The federal court system is poised to soon run out of funding and will have to furlough employees if Congress does not reach a deal to end the government shutdown, according to officials.
The U.S. Supreme Court also expects to run out of funding on Oct. 18, a spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. On Saturday, if Congress does not approve new money, the court will close its building to the public while remaining open for essential work such as oral arguments.
“Until the ongoing lapse in government funding is resolved, federal courts will maintain limited operations necessary to perform the Judiciary’s constitutional functions,” the office said.
“Federal judges will continue to serve, in accordance with the Constitution, but court staff may only perform certain excepted activities permitted under the Anti-Deficiency Act.”
That includes activities necessary for the safety of human life and the protection of property.
Employees performing those activities will not be paid, the office said. Staffers not performing the exempted work will be furloughed.
Judge Robert Conrad, the director of the office, said in an internal memorandum dated Oct. 16 and obtained by Reuters that furlough notices will be sent out on Monday and “orderly shutdown activities will commence” if new funding is not approved.
The judicial system has more than 33,000 employees. Exactly how many court employees will be furloughed is not clear. Officials in various trial courts said most, if not all, of their staff would be deemed exempt under the Antideficiency Act, as they provide essential services that help them fulfill their core duties under the Constitution of resolving cases and facilitating criminal defendants’ right to a speedy trial.
But probation officers, judicial clerks, and administrative staff still on the job are set to receive their last paychecks on Oct. 24, a possibility that “is extremely stressful to our employees,” said Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane of the Southern District of Texas, which covers Houston.
Federal public defenders—who represent indigent defendants who have a right to a lawyer—working in offices that are part of the judiciary likewise will not get paid, nor will private lawyers who do the same under the Criminal Justice Act.
The last time furloughs happened was during shutdowns that took place in 1995 and 1996.
Conrad said that the courts had done what they could to maintain operations by deferring planned spending.
The office said in its public statement that each court will decide on operations, including which cases may be delayed and which will remain on schedule. It said that the Judiciary Branch was able to continue paid operations through Oct. 17, with limited work over the Oct. 18–19 weekend, after the government shut down on Oct. 1, using court fee balances and other money that did not come from Congress.
