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Chapter 3, § 310: Federal Public and Community Defenders

Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol 7 Defender Services, Part B International Prisoner Transfer Proceedings, Chapter 3: Compensation and Reimbursement of Expenses

§ 310 Federal Public and Community Defenders

(a) Federal public and community defenders appointed to provide representation in international prisoner transfer proceedings under 18 U.S.C. § 4109(a)(2) and (b) must obtain travel authorizations from the Chief of the Defender Services Office (DSO) of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO).

(b) Before travel, an itinerary including dates and an estimated cost of the trip must be provided to DSO by email to DSO_LPD@ao.uscourts.gov.

(c) Travel obligations and vouchers, will be processed as follows.

(1) For federal public defender organization (FPDO) travelers participating in prisoner transfers, DSO will obligate centrally held funds to support the cost of the trip. FPDO travelers will submit travel vouchers through their FPDO for reimbursement. When processing the travel voucher, FPDO administrative staff will reference the obligation created by DSO.

(2) Community defender organization (CDO) travelers participating in prisoner transfers will be reimbursed from their CDO using the CDO’s grant funds.  Should the CDO require supplemental funding to support the prisoner transfer representation, the organization’s Administrative Officer should contact their assigned DSO Budget Analyst.  Within 60 days of the completion of travel, the CDO will email a copy of the travel voucher with supporting documentation to the DSO Travel Inbox (DSO_travel@uscourts.gov).

(d) The AO will initiate action to obtain reimbursement of expenses from the U.S. Department of State.  See: 18 U.S.C. § 4109(a)(2).

Last revised (Transmittal 07-013) December 22, 2021