CJA Voucher Review Clerk

United States Courts; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Thrift Savings Plan

Health insurance

Paid holidays

Job summary

California Southern District Court seeks a CJA Voucher Review Clerk to join the Clerk’s Office. The incumbent reviews CJA vouchers for payment, applying knowledge of the CJA, policy guides, and internal controls.

The role interfaces with attorneys, service providers, and court reporters to correct errors and ensure compliant processing. The position requires familiarity with the Ninth Circuit policies, the district’s CJA Plan, and strong Excel skills, with attention to detail and multi-tasking

Qualifications

• Specialized experience with federal law, court procedures, and legal documents.
• Ability to interpret financial instruments and policies.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Review CJA vouchers for accuracy and compliance.
• Explain error causes to attorneys, providers, and court reporters.
• Assist with case appointment requests and eVoucher accounts.

Skills

CJA knowledge

Excel

customer service

organizational skills

Education

Associate or bachelor's degree preferred

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Court Name/Organization California Southern District Court

Overview of the Position The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California is accepting applications for the position of CJA Voucher Review Clerk. This position is located in the Clerk’s Office and reports to the CJA Supervising Attorney. The incumbent receives and reviews CJA vouchers for payment.

• Builds and maintains a comprehensive knowledge of the Criminal Justice Act (CJA), the Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 7, the Ninth Circuit Policies and Procedures, the Southern District’s CJA Plan, and adheres to internal controls and processes
• Conducts technical review of CJA payment vouchers to ensure accuracy and compliance with national, Circuit and District guidelines and policies
• Makes specific recommendations to CJA Panel Administrator and CJA Supervising Attorney regarding voucher audits, when necessary
• Recommends implementation or modification of voucher processing procedures to improve workflow and operating methods to simplify or enhance the CJA voucher processing procedures
• Works directly with attorneys, service providers, experts, and court reporters to explain the causes of errors found and actions necessary to correct errors and prevent reoccurrence
• Assists in processing case appointment requests and modifications
• Assists and serves as backup for eVoucher user account management
• Analyzes and assists in preparing internal records and statistics regarding CJA payments for use by the Clerk’s Office, the Court, the Administrative Office, and other parties
• Performs other duties as assigned

Qualifications

To qualify for CL-25, the candidate must have a minimum of one year of specialized experience equivalent to work at CL-24.

Specialized Experience

Specialized experience is defined as progressively responsible experience that provided knowledge of federal law, rules and court procedures, the purpose and format of legal documents and the knowledge of legal terminology. Additionally, specialized experience may also include such experience that also provided a knowledge of rules, regulations, and terminology of financial administration. Such experience is commonly encountered in law firms, legal counsel offices, banking and credit firms, educational institutions, social service organizations, and corporate headquarters or human resources/payroll operations.

Preferred Qualifications/Skills:

• Associate or bachelor's degree preferred
• Prior experience working in a law office, financial institution, or accounting firm
• High level of proficiency using Microsoft Excel
• Solid critical thinking, problem-solving and organizational skills
• Excellent customer service skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a busy office environment is essential

Required Clearances
Please note that this position requires that applicants complete the “Optional Background Information” on Page 5 of the AO-78 Application Form.

The selected candidate will also be required to submit to a background investigation which includes fingerprinting and a credit check.

Employee Benefits

Salary is just one component of the comprehensive compensation package offered by the Federal Court. Federal court employees are eligible for a full range of benefits that include 13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid holidays per year, a flexible work schedule, immediate matching Thrift Savings Plan, pre-tax programs (health, dependent care and transportation), and insurance plans (i.e., health, life, disability, and long‑term care), car‑pooling options and a transportation subsidy.

Employer benefit contributions equate to no less than 33% of an employee’s total compensation. Be advised that eligibility may vary by appointment type and length.

Information for Applicants
The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, or to withdraw the announcement, any of which may occur without prior written or other notice. In the event that a position becomes vacant in a similar classification, within a reasonable time of the original announcement, the Clerk of Court may elect to select a candidate from the applicants who responded to the original announcement without posting the position.

Only qualified applicants will be considered for this position. Employees of the U.S. District Court serve under “Excepted Appointments” and are considered “at will” employees. Federal Civil Service classifications or regulations do not apply; however, court employees are entitled to substantially the same benefits as other Federal Government employees.

All information provided by applicants is subject to verification and background investigation. Applicants are advised that false statements or omission of information on any application materials or the inability to meet the following conditions may be grounds for non-selection, withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after being employed.

Participation in the interview process will be at the applicants own expense and relocation expenses will not be provided.

The position is subject to the mandatory electronic fund transfer (EFT) participation for payment of net pay (i.e. Direct Deposit).

Non-citizens may be interviewed and considered for employment, but employment offers will only be made to individuals who qualify under one of the exceptions in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)(B). In most cases, this means that an offer of employment cannot be made unless the candidate is a lawful permanent resident who is seeking U.S. citizenship as explained below.

Under 8 U.S.C. §1324b(a)(3)(B), a lawful permanent resident seeking citizenship may not apply for citizenship until he or she has been a permanent resident for at least five years (three years if seeking naturalization as a spouse of a citizen), at which point he or she must apply for citizenship within six months of becoming eligible, and must complete the process within two years of applying (unless there is a delay caused by the processors of the application). Non-citizens who have not been permanent residents for five years will be required to execute an affidavit that they intend to apply for citizenship when they become eligible to do so.

If selected for first time appointment to a position, you may be required to complete an initial performance probationary period. Failure to successfully complete the probationary period may result in termination of employment.

The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.