Subject-matter Jurisdiction

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Mohammad Alkaramla

Case No.: 16-2191

Officials: EASTERBROOK, ROVNER, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Subject-matter Jurisdiction

Philip Bernstein, an attorney appointed under the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA or the Act”) to represent an indigent defendant in federal district court, hired forensic expert Erich Speckin to analyze evidence for the defense. But Bernstein disregarded the Act’s rules and failed to obtain the district court’s preapproval for the hire. Instead, he submitted a CJA voucher for the expert’s services six months after his client was sentenced. The amount requested was well in excess of the statutory cap, and the district judge was unwilling to approve it. In the meantime, Speckin sued Bernstein for the money in Michigan state court. The state court entered a default judgment against Bernstein.

Bernstein then asked the federal district judge to vacate the state-court judgment or enjoin its enforcement. Not wanting to interfere with the state-court proceedings, the judge denied Bernstein’s request. That was the right instinct, but the judge had no authority to consider the merits at all. We vacate and remand with instructions to dismiss Bernstein’s motion for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

Vacated and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.