The in-court service and expense categories available on Form CJA 20, box 15, and Form CJA 30, box 14, are arraignment and/or plea, bail and detention hearings, motion hearings, trial, sentencing hearings, revocation hearings, appeals court, and other. (Note that Form CJA 30, box 15, provides for designation of time as “in-court” only on the line provided for in-court hearings; this would include oral arguments on a voucher submitted to an appeals court).
The out-of-court service and expense categories available on Form CJA 20, box 16, and Form CJA 30, box 15, are interviews and conferences, obtaining and reviewing records, legal research and brief writing, travel time, and investigative and other work.
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To claim charges for Computer-Assisted Legal Research (CALR), the appointed counsel should attach to the compensation voucher a copy of the bill and receipt for the use of the legal research services or an explanation of the precise basis of the charge. For example, counsel may indicate the extent to which the amount claimed was derived by proration of monthly charges or by charges identifiable to the specific research. If the amount claimed is more than $500 or if it includes costs for downloading or printing, counsel should include a brief statement of justification. [Guide, Vol. 7, § 230.63.30]
Note: See the Guide, Vol. 7, § 320.60 regarding procedures for obtaining computer-assisted legal research (CALR) services, where the research is performed by employees of a commercial legal research firm or organization. In such circumstances, the claims for compensation should be submitted on the applicable Form CJA 21 or Form CJA 31.