Opinion ID: 743482
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Appointment of CJA Counsel

Text: 33 Saia next argues that the magistrate judge erred in denying his request for the appointment of counsel pursuant to the CJA. The CJA requires that counsel be furnished for any person financially unable to obtain adequate representation. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(a). When requesting the appointment of counsel, the burden is on the defendant to show that he is unable to afford representation, though he need not prove that he is indigent. See United States v. Harris, 707 F.2d 653, 660 (2d Cir.1983). We review the court's findings regarding ability to pay for clear error. See id. 34 The magistrate judge's determination that Saia was ineligible for CJA counsel is well supported by the record. When questioned by the magistrate judge about his financial circumstances at the time of his application, Saia stated that (1) in the preceding three months, he had invested $15,000--the majority of which was borrowed--in a new telemarketing business; (2) he expected to earn between $500 and $800 dollars per week from this business; and (3) he had attended a business meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, two days earlier at his own expense. Moreover, after the magistrate judge delivered his decision not to appoint counsel, Saia explained: I didn't say that I couldn't afford counsel. I couldn't afford the counsel that I had been talking to. (J.A. 23.) Given this admission and Saia's ability to garner financial resources to engage in new business enterprises, the magistrate judge's finding that Saia was not eligible for appointed counsel was not clearly erroneous.