Pete Domenici: “my bill says that once the judge approves these payment vouchers that they be publicly disclosed. That means that anyone…”

“my bill says that once the judge approves these payment vouchers that they be publicly disclosed. That means that anyone can walk down to the Federal district court where the case is being tried and ask the clerk of the court for copies of the relevant CJA payment vouchers. It's that simple. Nothing more. Nothing less. Before the court releases this information it will provide notice to defense counsel that the information will be released, and either the criminal lawyer, or the judge on his/her own, may black out any of the barebones information on the payment voucher that might compromise the alleged criminals' precious sixth amendment rights. Mr. President, I believe that my bill is a modest step toward assuring that the American taxpayer have timely access to this information. In addition to these CJA payment vouchers, criminal lawyers must also supply the court with detailed time sheets that recount with extreme particularity the nature of work performed. These detailed time sheets break down the work performed by the criminal lawyer to the minute. They name each and every person that was interviewed, each and every phone call that was made, the subjects that were discussed, and the days and the times they took place. They go into intimate detail about what was done to prepare briefs, conduct investigations, and prepare for trial.”