Office of the Federal Public Defender

Eastern District of Texas

 The United States Supreme Court established an indigent defendant's right to legal counsel in Federal Courts in 1938. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938). To satisfy the requirement, federal District Judges appointed lawyers for indigent defendants, without pay or even reimbursement for expenses. The appointed lawyers were often inexperienced in criminal law. The Criminal Justice Act of 1964 (CJA) was enacted to provide payment for appointed lawyers and to create a core of full-time Federal Public Defenders, with skills equal to those of federal prosecutors. In response to the Criminal Justice Act, the federal judiciary created the Federal Defender Services program. Approximately 85 percent of all criminal cases prosecuted in federal courts require appointed legal counsel. The Defender Services Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States provides overall policy direction and guidance of the program, and the Defender Services Division provides administrative and program support.

Geographical Information about the Eastern District of Texas

The Eastern District of Texas contains 43 counties and covers in excess of 50,000 square miles. There are seven divisions within the district. There are a total of nine District Judges and six Magistrate Judges. The Federal Public Defender's Office has fully staffed operations in Beaumont, Sherman, Frisco, and Tyler, Texas. Division cities within the Eastern District of Texas are Beaumont, Lufkin, Marshall, Paris, Sherman, Texarkana, and Tyler. The Eastern District also has a courthouse in Plano Texas as a place to hold court for the Sherman Division.

NOTICE

The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will begin offering electronic filing to attorneys on a voluntary basis by the end of 2009.

Registration for voluntary electronic filing began October 7, 2009. Due to the expected high volume of registration requests, court acceptance of electronic filing accounts may take longer than expected. Please be assured that you will receive notification when the court has acted on your request. Your account will be accepted as "Approved - ECF Not Yet Available" because CM/ECF is not yet accessible for testing or filing. If you receive this notification, your account is complete.

Electronic filers must complete at least two interactive electronic learning modules (see below) and provide certification that they have done so by using the email button at the end of the modules.

New CJA Rates Approved

Congress authorized and provided funds to raise the non-capital hourly panel attorney
compensation rate from $100 to $110, and the maximum hourly capital rate from $170 to $175 (for federal capital prosecutions and capital post-conviction proceedings). These rates apply to attorneys appointed to represent eligible persons under the CJA, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, codified in part in 18 U.S.C. § 3599.

The new hourly compensation rates apply to work performed on or after March 11, 2009. Where the appointment of counsel occurred before this effective date, the new compensation rates apply to that portion of services provided on or after March 11, 2009.

Required Reading

Initial Guidance to CJA panel Representatives Reguarding Retroactivity of Crack Amendment

Useful Reading

Selected Guideline Application Decisions for the Fifth Circuit - PDF Adobe Reader required

Supreme Court Cases on Sentencing Issues - PDF Adobe Reader required

NYCDL files amicus briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court in Rita and Claiborne cases December 18th, 2006 (Updated February 13th, 2007)

Supreme Court Grants Cert To Review Federal Sentencing Practice - HTML

Practice Tips for Post-Booker Cases - PDF Adobe Reader required

An Introduction to Federal Sentencing 9th Ed. - PDF Adobe Reader required

Information for Federal Criminal Defendants - PDF Adobe Reader required

Search and Seizure 2006 - Steve Sady PDF format Adobe Reader required

Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit Update- Timothy Crooks PDF format Adobe Reader required

CHANGES TO THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES

Federal Sentencing Guidelines Manual and Appendices (2008). This manual contains the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements effective November 1, 2008.

A"Reader-Friendly" Version of Amendments on Crack Cocaine and Retroactivity (effective May 1, 2008) and Amendments Submitted to Congress on May 1, 2008 (effective November 1, 2008) -This compilation contains unofficial text of (A) amendments effective May 1, 2008, and (B) amendments submitted to Congress on May 1, 2008, effective November 1, 2008. Official text of Part A can be found in the Federal Register at 73 FR 23521, and official text of Part B will appear in an upcoming edition of the Federal Register.

Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines, Policy Statements, and Official Commentary (May 1, 2008) - Pursuant to section 994(p) of title 28, United States Code, the United States Sentencing Commission hereby submits to the Congress the following amendments to the sentencing guidelines and the reasons therefor. As authorized by such section, the Commission specifies an effective date of November 1, 2008, for these amendments.

THE CRACK COCAINE AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES

TRAINING ANNOUNCMENTS

The Training Branch of the Office of Defender Services will present several workshops during the FY 2009. The following link will direct you to the www.fd.org training programs web page, http://www.fd.org/odstb_TRAINING.htm#panel. Financial assistance is available to qualified individuals. Please also note that further information, registration forms and financial assistance applications for training workshops can be found on www.fd.org.