Public Defenders May Soon Work Without Pay

New York attorneys are anxious and some cases are on hold as the shutdown enters a third week.

Money for federal courts runs dry Oct. 17, after which they can operate to the extent “necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers,” the Administrative Office of the US Courts said in a memo earlier this month.

For the Federal Defenders of New York, the organization representing indigent criminal defendants in federal courts in and around New York City, that means attorneys could soon work without pay.

“If the shutdown persists and there is no money that comes ...