The impact of the government shutdown has crossed over into federal courtrooms with funding for the judiciary coming down to the wire this week.
Previously the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts predicted funds would run out by Jan. 18, which would force federal courts to rely on unpaid staff to perform critical operations.
The Administrative Office released a memo, which stated, "the judiciary has continued to operate by court fee balances. After an aggressive effort to reduce expenditures, [The Administrative Office] now estimates that federal courts can sustain funded operations through Jan. 25, 2019."
Chief U.S. Judge Barbara Lynn of the Northern District of Texas said she is greatly concerned about the possibility of the shutdown lingering. "We’re moving money from one pot to the other to pay current obligations. We are also reducing travel that is necessary for our district," Lynn said.
"Even though we’re not out of money at the moment, various agencies and employers and personnel that we work with are out of money and that creates a lot of problems for the judiciary general operations," Lynn explained. "Everybody is still coming to work, performing the mission, but they are not being paid for it."
Employees with the U.S. Marshals and lawyers who work for the U.S. attorney's office are not being paid. Agencies that partner with the federal courts have also been affected.
"The FBI, DEA and ATF law enforcement agencies with the Department of Justice are not getting paid," Lynn said. "We will soldier on, but we’re very concerned of the impact of this and the operations of the judiciary."
If the shutdown continues beyond Jan. 25, civil cases will be put on hold while criminal cases proceed uninterrupted. Juror fees will also be affected if the money runs out, with jurors taking IOUs from the federal government, Lynn explained.
“I think it’s important for people to know that their friends, their neighbors and people that protect them are impacted by this shutdown," Lynn said. "We are all dedicated people, who believe in our system of justice and feel we are part of a greater calling, but this is stressful work. When you add the shutdown, it’s a morale buster."
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The government shutdown has impacted both the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, delaying immigration cases across the country. The Judiciary will continue to cut costs in the hopes of sustaining operations past Jan. 25, but there is still fear the money will run out.
