John R. Justice Program
2011 - 2012 Indiana John R. Justice Program Guidelines
The Office of the Indiana Attorney General is the designated agency to administer the John R. Justice (JRJ) Student Repayment Program for the State of Indiana. This program provides for a payment toward eligible educational loans for full-time federal or state defenders and state or municipal prosecutors, including appellate lawyers, who are continually licensed to practice law in Indiana. The purpose of the program is to encourage qualified attorneys to choose careers as prosecutors and public defenders and to continue in that service.
Amount of Program Funding and Benefit Amount
Indiana has received an award of $149,781 in JRJ Program funding which will be divided equally among prosecutors and public defenders. The base award amount will be $1,000 to qualified recipients for prosecutors and public defenders including appellate lawyers in each category. Award recipients from last fiscal year will be given preference by design of the program to encourage continued employment in public service.
Eligibility Requirement
A. Eligible Employment
The definitions of prosecutors and public defenders that are eligible for benefits from the Indiana JRJ Program are below.
Prosecutor – A full-time employee 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 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; is a full-time employee of a nonprofit organization operating under a contract with a state or unit of local government who devotes substantially all of the employee’s full-time employment to providing legal representation to indigent persons in criminal or juvenile delinquency cases including supervision, education, or training of other persons providing such representation; or employed as a full-time federal defender attorney 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).
Ineligible employment: Prosecutors who are employees of the federal government are ineligible. Attorneys who are in private practice and not a full-time employee of a non-profit organization, even if individually or part of a firm that is under contract with a state or court-appointed to provide public defense services, do not qualify as “public defenders” are ineligible.
B. Other Eligibility Requirements
- A beneficiary must be employed in the state from which s/he receives JRJ funding.
- A beneficiary must be employed full-time, which is a minimum of 30 hours per week.
- A beneficiary must be continually licensed to practice law.
- A beneficiary must not be in default on repayment of any federal student loans.
- See the Service Agreement for other eligibility requirements.
C. Eligible Student Loans
The following loans are eligible for repayment with JRJ funds:
Eligible Loans:
1. A loan made, insured, or guaranteed under part B of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20 (Federal Family Education Loan Program);
2. A loan made under part C or D of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20 (William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan and Federal Perkins Loans);
3. A loan made under section 1078-3 or 1087e(g) of Title 20 (Federal consolidation loans and Federal Direct Consolidation loans, respectively).
Ineligible Loans:
The term student loan does not include any of the following loans:
1. A loan made to the parents of a dependent student under section 428B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-2).
2. A Federal Direct PLUS Loan made to the parents of a dependent student.
3. A loan made under section 428C or 455 (g) of the higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078-3 (Federal consolidation loans) and 1087e(g) (Federal Direct Consolidation loans) to the extent that such loan was used to repay a loan described in clause (1) or (2).
Applicants who have consolidated their qualifying loans with a spouse’s loans should provide documentation showing the dollar amount each party held at the time of consolidation and calculate what percentage of the new combined loan is attributable to each person. The Indiana JRJ Program will look at the current loan balance, and, based on the percentage attributable to the attorney requesting participation, will establish that portion as the “loan balance” eligible for repayment.
Application Procedure
Application packets are due by March 2, 2012 and should be mailed to:
Attention: JRJ Program Director
Office of the Indiana Attorney General
302 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204
Click here to access the JRJ Program application. An application packet includes the application form, employer verification form, loan verification forms and account statement(s), proof of financial information including 1040 federal forms, signed service agreement, cover letter highlighting public service and a commitment to continued public service for at least three years, a letter of recommendation from the applicant’s employer exhibiting excellence in public service or other demonstrations of excellence and submission of law school transcripts (a copy of the transcript will suffice). JRJ grant award recipients from FY 2010 that wish to reapply for FY 2011 will not be required to resubmit law school transcripts.
Selection of Beneficiaries
The Indiana JRJ Student Loan Repayment Committee members will determine which applicants will receive the funding. The selection committee is comprised of the Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Indiana, Executive Director of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, and the Executive Director of the Indiana Public Defense Council.
The total amount of benefits funded with JRJ funding will be equally divided between prosecutors and public defenders including appellate lawyers in both categories. Within the two employment categories, priority will be given to those attorneys who have the least ability to repay their student loans. An applicant’s ability to repay their student loans will be based on the ratio of an applicant’s total eligible educational debt to an applicant’s adjusted gross income. A cost of living adjustment will be made for each applicant by county. Geographic and population density will be considered, relative to the pool of applications received, in effort of spreading the funding out among the state. The minimum ratio needed to receive benefits will be determined after all applications are received and the number of applications is compared with the total amount of funding available. By design of the program, preference will be given to previous award recipients as the objective is to encourage continued employment in public service.
All eligible applicants will be reviewed by the Indiana JRJ Program Committee and will receive a score based upon the following criteria:
Financial need & amount of student loan debt 50% Excellence in public service 20% Commitment to continued public service 10% Geographic diversity 10% Law school transcripts 10%
Terms of Agreement
Applicants seeking JRJ Program educational repayment assistance must sign a service agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The service agreement obligates a beneficiary of 2011-2012 JRJ funds to “remain employed as a prosecutor or public defender for a period of three years from the date of the original award unless involuntarily separated from employment.”
Benefits Distribution
Payments will be made by the State of Indiana directly to the lenders based on information recipients provide. Individual lenders may make different decisions as to how the payments get applied – i.e, to current interest, to principal, etc. Award recipients are responsible for discussing how to apply the payment with their individual lenders. The Attorney General’s Office as a disbursing agency will not negotiate with lenders about how payments are to be applied, nor will the Indiana JRJ Program be held responsible for any late fees assessed by the lending institution. Payments will be made to lenders in-full with one payment.
The disbursement of the JRJ federal funding may conflict with the terms of other repayment assistance or forgiveness programs so applicants are encouraged to discuss the impact this may have with their lender/servicer. For example, for public interest loan forgiveness (120 payment program) participants, the award payment can only be applied toward one monthly payment and it must meet or exceed that monthly payment amount. The excess, if any, is applied to principal.
Beneficiary Acceptance of Benefits
Applicants that have been selected to receive the JRJ benefits will receive a letter of notification from the Indiana Attorney General’s Office. Award recipients will be required to complete, sign and return an Applicant 1099 Form as the State Auditor will need this information to prepare a 1099 reporting form for this taxable income.
Contact Information
For further information about the Indiana JRJ Program, contact Natalie Robinson via email at Natalie.Robinson@atg.in.gov.
For more information on the federal program see the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, John R. Justice Official Site.
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