John R Justice

Please note: the application deadline for JRJ funds is 10 p.m. MST, November 13, 2017

The Colorado John R. Justice (JRJ) Program provides educational loan repayment benefits to prosecutors and public defenders in Colorado, using funding from the John R. Justice (JRJ) Program codified as 42 U.S.C. §3797cc-21. The purpose of the program is to encourage qualified attorneys to choose and remain in careers as prosecutors and public defenders. Selected beneficiaries must commit to continued employment as public defenders and prosecutors for at least three years.

Funding Available:

Colorado received a total of $37,475 from the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) for program fiscal year 2017 will make an equal allocation of $18,737.50 to eligible selected prosecutors and $18,737.50 to eligible public defenders. Three prosecutors will be selected for an award in addition, 3 public defenders will be selected for an award.

The six applicants (beneficiaries) awarded John R Justice funds for loan repayment will receive awards in the $6,000 range to be paid directly to the loan company in 6 installments to maximize participation in the federal loan forgiveness program. A beneficiary may not receive more than $60,000 in total lifetime benefits provided by JRJ grant funds.

Minimum Criteria: This will be a competitive process due to program eligibility and available funding limitations. Only those applicants who meet the criteria below will be considered:

Full-time prosecutor or public defender who is continually licensed to practice law in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases at the state or local government level (see definitions below for more information)
Gross income (pre-tax salary of the applicant only) of $65,000 or below
Education loan debt of $100,000 and higher

APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND DEADLINE

Applicants must submit an application packet using the on-line application system (all questions answered and all requested documents uploaded) by 10L00 p.m. MST November13, 2017. The entire application and all required documents must be in by the deadline. Incomplete applications including those missing information or documents will not be eligible for consideration. Applicants who do not meet them minimum requirement will not be able to submit an application.

1st, read the JRJ Program Overview, Eligibility and Application Instructions
2nd, create a user name and password
3rd, complete the on-line application

Definitions

Program defined employment eligible prosecutors and public defenders are:

Prosecutor:

Full-time employee (defined as 30 hours or more per week) of a state or unit of local government (including tribal government) who is continually licensed to practice law and prosecutes criminal or juvenile delinquency cases at the state or unit of local government level including supervision, education, or training of other persons prosecuting such cases. 42 U.S.C.§3797cc-21(b)(1)

Public Defender:

An attorney who is continually licensed to practice law and is a full-time employee (defined as 30 hours or more per week) of a state or unit of local government (including tribal government) who provides legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases including supervision, education, or training of other persons providing such representation.

and/or

An attorney employed as a full-time federal defender in a defender organization pursuant to Subsection (g) of section 3006A of Title 18, United States Code, that provides legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases. 42 U.S.C. §3797cc-21(b)(2).