The federal court system now expects to be able to continue operating through Jan. 18, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
The judiciary was originally only able to remain open for three weeks during the partial shutdown of the federal government, which began on Dec. 22, by using court fee balances and other funds.
Originally set to run out of money this Friday, the office announced Monday that it has “revised its original estimate and is now working toward the goal of sustaining paid operations” for another two weeks.
“In an effort to achieve this goal, courts have been asked to delay or defer non-mission critical expenses, such as new hires, non-case related travel and certain contracts. Judiciary employees are reporting to work and currently are in full-pay status,” the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Monday.
The partial government shutdown started after President Trump said he would not sign spending legislation that did not include roughly $5 billion for a wall along the U.S-Mexico border. A compromise with congressional Democrats has yet to be reached, and a shutdown beyond Friday would break the record of the 21-day shutdown that started in December 1995 and ended in January 1996.
If the shutdown lasts past Jan. 18, the courts then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which means individual courts and judges must then decide how to operate in a way that best serves the judicial branch.
Some federal courts are already “suspending, postponing, or holding in abeyance civil cases in which the government is a party” for a limited period until appropriated funds become available, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said.
A report released last month by the Congressional Research Service shows that neither judges nor their core court staff are furloughed. Staff performing “essential work” are working without pay, while others are furloughed.
Should there be no funds past Jan. 18, Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former deputy director at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, said the shutdown puts more pressure on an already strained federal court system.
“It’s pretty obvious there’s nothing good about it,” Wheeler told the Washington Examiner. “This is only going to exacerbate it.”
Wheeler cited the number of judicial vacancies: 120 are empty, or about 18 percent of the total 677 federal judgeship.
“So there already was a shortage of processing capacity before the shutdown. It will only get worse as judges individually or collectively by district try to figure out how much they want to impose on their staffs to help process cases without getting timely paychecks for doing it,” Wheeler said.
