Federal courts, running out of cash, brace for shutdown pain

Courts across U.S. may pare down to ‘mission critical’ operations.

WASHINGTON — The federal courts are running out of money as the partial government shutdown continues with no end in sight, raising concerns that the legal system will be significantly hobbled if the standoff is not resolved soon.

Judges and court officials across the country are bracing for the likelihood that the federal judiciary will be unable to maintain its current operations within the next two weeks, once it exhausts the money it has been relying on since the shutdown began last month.

Court-appointed private lawyers who represent indigent defendants have been working without pay since late December, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which provides support for the court system.

There have been other disruptions. The Justice Department is among the executive branch agencies whose funding has lapsed, and at the department’s request, some federal courts have issued orders postponing civil cases in which the Justice Department is a party while the shutdown continues, according to the administrative office.

If the judiciary runs out of money, courts across the country will pare down their work to “mission critical” operations, officials said. Thousands of court employees will stop receiving paychecks, some workers are expected to be furloughed, and more civil cases could grind to a halt.

A crippled judiciary, with all the consequences that would entail for businesses and citizens alike who come before its courts, would add to the pressure on President Donald Trump and lawmakers to find a way to reopen the government.

With roughly 33,000 employees nationwide and annual federal funding of under $8 billion, the judiciary makes up a tiny part of the federal budget.

Unlike other parts of the government, the courts have been able to keep afloat during the past few weeks by relying on court fees as well as other funds that were available. The courts are now expected to be able to continue funded operations through at least Jan. 25, and possibly until Feb. 1, the administrative office said.

The Supreme Court, federal appeals courts, district courts and bankruptcy courts across the country will have to decide on a court-by-court basis how they will change their operations and what staff will be needed to continue that work. Court employees, like executive branch employees affected by the shutdown, would work without pay or be furloughed.

DREW ANGERER / GETTY IMAGES Judges and court officials are bracing for the likelihood that the federal judiciary will be unable to maintain current operations within the next two weeks, once it exhausts the money it has been relying on since the shutdown began last month.