US Courts Face First Furloughs Under Shutdown in 30 Years (2)

Federal courts across the US are preparing to furlough some staffers and curb operations as the judiciary prepares to run out of funding amid an ongoing government shutdown.

Federal courts will close some locations one day a week, furlough staff, and require essential employees to work unpaid, according to new orders posted by more than a half a dozen chief judges previewing how they’ll handle their work after the federal judiciary runs out of funds over the weekend.

Furlough notices will be handed out on Oct. 20 “and orderly shutdown activities will commence,” Administrative Office of the US Courts Director Robert Conrad said in a Thursday memo obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The Supreme Court expects to run out of funding on Saturday and will need to “make changes in its operations” to comply with federal shutdown rules, spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement. The Supreme Court building will be closed to the public, though it will remain open for official business, and the high court will continue to hear and decide cases, according to McCabe.

The court disruptions are the latest impact of a government shutdown that began Oct. 1, with no end in sight as lawmakers remain at an impasse on funding. At least one federal judge has warned that the situation may undermine courts’ ability to deliver timely decisions.

Conrad said the judiciary “will have no funding to incur obligations or make payments for most activities” now that the additional funds have run out, referring to that time as “phase 2.” He said that while some budget allotments were posted on an internal judiciary financial management system, “this funding is only available to record obligations for excepted activities” during the shutdown.

“We recognize the complex financial implications of any furlough, regardless of its length,” Conrad said.

Though judges’ salaries are guaranteed constitutionally, the funding lapse will halt paychecks for court staff and employees within probation and federal defender offices. Some courts have paused deadlines in civil litigation involving the government, but criminal cases continue during shutdowns as essential work.

Conrad said that the judiciary’s administrative office conducted an Oct. 15 training on creating and carrying out shutdown plans.

The judiciary has previously had enough extra funding on hand, such as from court fees, to sustain operations during recent shutdowns, including for the five-week shutdown during the first Trump administration. However, this year the court system was able to maintain normal operations for about two weeks after the government shutdown began, after several years without an annual budget increase.

The judiciary hasn’t had to furlough staff during a shutdown in three decades, since the 1995 funding lapse.

Each court will decide how to manage its staffing and caseloads during the shutdown, the judiciary’s administrative office said in a Friday statement.

The judiciary’s electronic case management system will continue to operate, though the administrative office will no longer have staffing to answer the public telephone. The jury program will also continue, according to the office.

Court Impacts

Chief judges for federal district courts have generally deemed staff working in judges’ chambers essential, meaning those employees must keep working without paychecks while the shutdown continues, according to orders on court websites. However, some courts are planning limited closures.

The US District Court for the Middle District of Alabama’s courthouses will close each Friday beginning next week, Chief Judge Emily Marks said in a Thursday order.

The federal trial court in Connecticut will close its clerk’s office on Fridays, and all employees in that office will be furloughed on those days, though a judge could request an exception if needed for a case, Michael P. Shea, chief judge of the federal trial court in Connecticut, said in a Thursday order.

Chief Judge Stephanie Rose of the Southern District of Iowa said in an order that while a number of employees—including judges’ staff and certain specified positions within clerk and probation offices—are essential, others will be furloughed during the shutdown.

All employees in the Southern District of Texas are deemed essential, according to a Friday order. Chief Judge Randy Crane told Bloomberg Law that while travel is limited to only that needed for cases, the judges have offered to cover travel costs for court employees so staff don’t have to take on the debt.

Some chief judges are also suspending training programs, halting new hiring, and limiting employee travel. And though the judiciary has said the jury program will be unaffected, at least two federal district courts signaled in orders that payments to jurors could be delayed.

Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall of the Chicago-based Northern District of Illinois said in a statement Friday that she is “concerned that the lack of appropriation will create delays in the Court’s ability to ensure timely justice.”

“Furthermore, the dedicated public servants, who allow those who seek redress prompt access to Court, are now feeling the pain of their paychecks being suspended and facing difficult financial decisions to keep their families afloat because of the shutdown,” Kendall said.