Closing Date: 20th May, 2024
Description:
Summary:This position resides in the Training Division, Content Branch of the Defender Services Office (DSO). The DSO provides leadership, direction, administration, management, oversight, and support for the federal appointed counsel system. DSO also serves as staff and counsel to the Judicial Conference's Defender Services Committee (DSC) and administers the hybrid system of federally appointed counsel consisting of Federal Defender Organizations (FDOs) and Criminal Justice Act (CJA) panel attorneys.
Duties:
The mission of the Defender Services program is to ensure that the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment, the Criminal Justice Act (18 U.S.C.3006A), and other congressional mandates is enforced on behalf of those who cannot afford to retain counsel and other necessary defense services. By fulfilling its mission, the Defender Services program helps to (a) maintain public confidence in the nation's commitment to equal justice under law and (b) ensure the successful operation of the constitutionally based adversary system of justice by which both federal criminal laws and federally guaranteed rights are enforced.
The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:
- Responding to "hotline" inquiries from attorneys appointed pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), relating to all aspects of representing a client in a federal criminal case.
- Preparing written materials for distribution at national, regional, and local training programs or for posting on the division's website.
- Planning and coordinating national, regional, and local training programs for CJA panel attorneys.
- Assisting with the planning of core training programs for federal defender organizations.
- Serving as faculty at national, regional, and local training programs.
- Assisting with the use of distance learning tools to supplement traditional in person training.
- Participating in distance learning activities as required.
- Monitoring legislation of relevance to criminal defense representation.
- Monitoring federal criminal case decisions and orders.
- Performing other substantive and administrative activities related to the duties listed above.
Requirements:
Conditions of Employment:
Conditions of Employment
- All information is subject to verification. Applicants are advised that false answers or omissions of information on application materials or inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment, or dismissal after being employed.
- Selection for this position is contingent upon completion of OF-306, Declaration of Federal Employment during the pre-employment process and proof of U.S. citizenship for competitive status positions or conversion to a competitive status position with the AO. If non-citizens are considered for hire into a temporary or any other position with non-competitive status or when it is confirmed by the AO Human Resources Office there are no qualified U.S. citizens for a competitive status position (unless prohibited by a law or statue), non-citizens must provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. and proof of entitlement to receive compensation. Additional information on the employment of non-citizens can be found at USAJOBS Help Center | Employment of non-citizens/ (https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/non-citizens/). For a list of documents that may be used to provide proof of citizenship or authorization to work in the United States, please refer to Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9).
- All new AO employees will be required to complete an FBI fingerprint-based national criminal database and records check and pass a public trust suitability check.
- New employees to the AO will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights/responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
- All new AO employees are required to identify a financial institution for direct deposit of pay before appointment.
- You will be required to serve a trial period if selected for a first-time appointment to the Federal government, transferring from another Federal agency, or serving as a first-time supervisor. Failure to successfully complete the trial period may result in termination of employment.
- If appointed to a temporary position, management may have the discretion of converting the position to permanent depending upon funding and staffing allocation.
Qualifications:
Applicants must have demonstrated experience as listed below. This requirement is according to the AO Classification, Compensation, and Recruitment Systems which include interpretive guidance and reference to the OPM Operating Manual for Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions.
Bar Membership: Applicants must currently be an active member in good standing of the bar of a state, territory, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or a federal court of general jurisdiction. Applicants are responsible for citing minimum qualifications such as J.D. and bar membership information (institution name, state(s) for bar, and dates) on their respective resumes. Failure to supply details will constitute an incomplete application. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Post J.D. Experience: Applicants must also possess at least 3years of post J.D. experience.
Specialized Experience: Subsequent to graduation from law school, applicants must have at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience which is in or directly related to the line of work of this position. Specialized experience for this position is demonstrated experience in providing legal advice and/or training involving criminal defense, the interpretation of statutes, regulations, decisional law and opinions, and/or the preparation of legal memoranda, legislative proposals, and congressional testimony, particularly at the Federal level.
Education:
Applicants must possess a law degree (J.D.) from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). Qualifying education must have been obtained from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on OPM's website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/.
