Federal Courts To Stay Open During Government Shutdown For About 3 Weeks

With the government now officially shutdown, many services and agencies are being widely affected. However, officials with the federal court ystem indicate that they will be able to stay open for about three weeks without Congress reaching a budget resolution of some kind. 

On January 20, the U.S. Courts issued a statement outlining how the judiciary will function during the government shutdown, and for how long. However, many expect that services will be slow, and some non-critical conferences and hearings are likely to be postponed.

The government shutdown began at the end of last week, when Senate Democrats and Republicans failed to reach an agreement on a continuing resolution to fund the government, with the primary issues being fight over the fate of illegal immigrants who were brought here as children and, while not being American citizens, have never known any other country. To pass, the budget needs to be approved by at least 60 of the 100 senators. Currently, the Senate is divided 51-49, with Republicans holding a slight majority.

A procedural vote is expected to be held at noon on Monday, to see if an agreement can be reached to fund the government for at least another three weeks. No decision was available at press time. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands of government employees may be furloughed and put on temporary non-paid leave, and many government services are expected to grind to a halt.

Every agency has released some sort of plan on how it intends to deal with the shutdown, including the federal courts.

“Despite a government shutdown, the federal judiciary will remain open and can continue operations for approximately three weeks, through February 9, by using court fee balances and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation,” the judiciary’s statement reads. “Most proceedings and deadlines will occur as scheduled. In cases where an attorney from an Executive Branch agency is not working because of the shutdown, hearing and filing dates may be rescheduled.”

The notice also indicates that case management and electronic case files will remain in operation.

Some court officials indicate that some court staff could be furloughed, and if the shutdown goes longer than three weeks and the court’s funds run out, others may have to work without pay due to the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which is a federal law that requires some essential services continue in the face of a lack of federal funds. Judicial services fall under the umbrella of that act, meaning federal judges cannot be furloughed, the courts must continue to assign federal defenders, and legal filings still have to be processed in a timely manner.

The federal court’s statement indicates that each court and federal defender’s office will need to decide what staffing resources are necessary to continue to function in the face of an extended shutdown.