In court and out of court
The CJA-20 voucher divides your time into in-court services (section 15) and out-of-court services (section 16), plus travel and expenses. That structure is the same in every federal district (federal CJA-20 voucher, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts).
In-court services
| CJA-20 category | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Arraignment and/or Plea | Time in court for arraignment or a plea. |
| Bail and Detention Hearings | Bail and detention hearings. |
| Motion Hearings | Hearings on motions. |
| Trial | Time actually on trial. |
| Sentencing Hearings | Sentencing. |
| Revocation Hearings | Supervised release or probation revocation hearings. |
| Appeals Court | Time before the court of appeals. |
| Other (In Court) | In-court time that fits nothing above. |
Out-of-court services
| CJA-20 category | What goes here |
|---|---|
| Interviews and Conferences | Talking with anyone about the case: your client, the AUSA, the clerk, prior counsel, witnesses. Federal rolls all of these into one line. |
| Obtaining and Reviewing Records | Getting and reviewing discovery, transcripts, and records. |
| Legal Research and Brief Writing | Research and drafting. |
| Investigative and Other Work | Investigation and out-of-court work that fits nothing else. |
| Travel Time | Travel. |
How CJA differs from Massachusetts CPCS
These are two different systems. CPCS eBill is state; CJA eVoucher is federal. The difference that bites when you categorize: federal puts every conversation, client or not, under Interviews and Conferences, while the Massachusetts trial form splits client calls (Client Tel. Contact) from calls with the DA and others (Investigation). If you carry both kinds of appointment, keep the two straight.
What Plani does with CJA time, and what it does not
Plani categorizes your CJA time and formats it for the CJA-20, so you can paste it into eVoucher. It does not file into eVoucher for you the way it files into CPCS eBill. That part is on the roadmap, not built yet. For federal work, Plani keeps the record and does the categorizing, and the eVoucher entry is still yours.