Filed: Apr. 27, 2017
Latest Update: Apr. 27, 2017
Summary: ORDER C. W. HOFFMAN, Jr. , Magistrate Judge . Presently before the Court is pro se Defendant Charles Edward Cooper, Jr.'s ex parte motion for additional CJA (Criminal Justice Act) funds (ECF No. 247), filed on November 30, 2016. Defendant requests that the Court authorize the dispersal of CJA funds to his prison account for the purchase of office supplies to be used in preparation of his appeal. Defendant also requests CJA funds be used to hire a paralegal to assist him in preparation of hi
Summary: ORDER C. W. HOFFMAN, Jr. , Magistrate Judge . Presently before the Court is pro se Defendant Charles Edward Cooper, Jr.'s ex parte motion for additional CJA (Criminal Justice Act) funds (ECF No. 247), filed on November 30, 2016. Defendant requests that the Court authorize the dispersal of CJA funds to his prison account for the purchase of office supplies to be used in preparation of his appeal. Defendant also requests CJA funds be used to hire a paralegal to assist him in preparation of his..
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ORDER
C. W. HOFFMAN, Jr., Magistrate Judge.
Presently before the Court is pro se Defendant Charles Edward Cooper, Jr.'s ex parte motion for additional CJA (Criminal Justice Act) funds (ECF No. 247), filed on November 30, 2016. Defendant requests that the Court authorize the dispersal of CJA funds to his prison account for the purchase of office supplies to be used in preparation of his appeal. Defendant also requests CJA funds be used to hire a paralegal to assist him in preparation of his appeal.
The Court considered Defendant's request for funds and found good cause to grant it. The Court directed the Court's CJA administrator to deposit fifty dollars into Defendant's prison account. The funds were deposited on February 23, 2017. A receipt for this transaction is attached to this order, with personally identifying information redacted.
As for Defendant's request for CJA funds for a paralegal, Defendant previously made this request, and the Court denied it. Order (ECF No. 233). In that order, the Court found that Defendant had shown no particularized need for the services of a paralegal. In the instant motion, Defendant reiterates his need for a paralegal, but again provides no specific reason that a paralegal is necessary for his appeal. Defendant relies on the fact that he is incarcerated, has no legal training, and that the government uses paralegals to assist in the prosecution of its case.
However, these conditions exist for virtually all pro se defendants. A ruling that a paralegal is necessary on the facts presently before the Court would create a de facto standard that one is necessary in every case. Absent some specific articulation of conditions to show that use of a paralegal is reasonably necessary in this particular case, the Court will not authorize use of CJA funds.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant's motion (ECF No. 247) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Per the Court's direction, fifty dollars of CJA funds have been deposited into Defendant's prison account. A receipt of the transaction has been attached to this order.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant's request for CJA funds to hire a paralegal is DENIED.
