Question 1

Which counties will be participating in the JFDM appointment process?

Accepted Answer

The JFDM Roster application is open to defense attorneys across the state who practice in the following counties. Counties not listed below will retain their appointment authority through the Public Defender’s office of that county; please contact the public defender in that county for information on being appointed to JFDM cases.

Surry               	Wilkes            	Davie              
Stokes            	Yadkin            	Davidson                
Rockingham  	Forsyth           	Rowan            
Caswell           	Nash               	Cabarrus
Person            	Edgecombe   	Stanly
Granville         	Wilson            	Montgomery
Vance             	Lee                  	Iredell
Warren           	Harnett          	Alexander
Franklin          	Catawba         	Randolph

Question 2

What’s the furthest I will be asked to travel for these cases?

Accepted Answer

We are assuming most attorneys are comfortable traveling to neighboring counties (up to 60 miles from their home office), but we are happy to make note of any travel restrictions or preferences you may have. If you’re only willing to take cases in one particular county, that works for us. If you’re willing to travel all over the state, that works for us too. Please see the question about turning down cases as well.

Question 3

What is the hourly rate for these cases?

Accepted Answer

Juvenile first degree murder cases for youth ages 13 through 17 are paid at the current IDS Class A rate of $100/hour.

Question 4

How will I be paid for these cases?

Accepted Answer

Payment for JFDM cases will be paid monthly by OJD/IDS and will not go through the judge. Attorneys will submit their hours worked monthly and will be paid monthly.

Question 5

Do I go through the Judge for funding for experts?

Accepted Answer

No – Requests for funds for experts will be sent directly to OJD/IDS and will skip the judge all together.

Question 6

Can I turn down appointment of a JFDM case?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely, positively yes. It is important that attorneys only have as many cases as they can competently manage. We expect attorneys to let us know if they can’t take a case when we ask, and we will circle back around the next time (or the next time, or the next time).

Question 7

How many appointments am I likely to receive in a year?

Accepted Answer

We are thankful that the number of JFDM cases that go through our courts is relatively low, and we are likely to only ask to assign one JFDM to any attorney at any time. For those reasons, we encourage even those defenders with a heavy caseload to apply for the roster as you can always let us know that you don’t have the capacity to take a case any time!

Question 8

I’m already on the Capital Roster, do I still need to fill out your application?

Accepted Answer

Yes, please. While many of the qualifications for being on the Capital Roster overlap with what we are asking on our application, there are several different topics and questions for which we need information from you that don’t overlap with Capital Roster qualifications. We know frontline defenders have a lot on their plates and appreciate you taking the time to complete yet another document.

Question 9

Will there be training opportunities related to JFDM?

Accepted Answer

Yes, many! We have three different types of trainings: substantive, logistical, and a subset of the logistical training for first appearances.

Our substantive FDM trainings were offered live, and we loved seeing so many faces for our day of training. Those trainings were recorded and are available for viewing on our website, under the defender portal. (Attendance at the training or viewing of the videos is a requirement to be on the roster.)

OJD will host a “Logistics Training” to help answer questions about how the JFDM Roster will operate, including the appointment process and procedure, provisional counsel process, applying for expert funding, and payment of attorney fees. The logistics trainings are anticipated to be held on January 19, 2024, and February 24, 2024 (so please hold one those dates on your calendars!). Additionally, we expect to hold a JFDM First Appearance training on February 9, 2024, to discuss special circumstances for first appearances – please hold this date as well. Each of these sessions will be offered virtually and will also be recorded for future viewing.

Access our training calendar below.

Question 10

When will your office officially start appointing attorneys on these cases?

Accepted Answer

We are aiming for a “Go Live” date in February of 2026, contingent upon all aspects of the roster being ready at that time. Keep an eye on this page (or contact us!) for updates to this timeline.