Federal judiciary has funds for three weeks of shutdown operations ... so let the FIRST STEP Act litigation begin
This notice from the US Courts, headed "Judiciary Operating During Shutdown," reports that "despite a partial shutdown of the federal government that began on Dec. 22, 2018, the Judiciary remains open and can continue operations for approximately three weeks, through Jan. 11, 2019, by using court fee balances and other funds not dependent on a new appropriation." Here is more:
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 Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system also will remain in operation for electronic filing of documents.
If the shutdown were to continue past three weeks and exhaust the federal Judiciary’s resources, the courts would then operate under the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows work to continue during a lapse in appropriations if it is necessary to support the exercise of Article III judicial powers. Under this scenario, each court and federal defender’s office would determine the staffing resources necessary to support such work.
I sure hope the folks inside the Beltway can get their act together to avoid having the shutdown extend past January 11, and my law nerd heart is warmed by reading "Most proceedings and deadlines will occur as scheduled" until then. Moreover, as the title of this post hints (and as I will be discussing in a few follow-up posts), I think there some important new legal arguments to make (and some old legal arguments that are stronger) now that the FIRST STEP Act is the law of the land. I sincerely hope lawyers and advocates are already getting at least some of those arguments ready for court, and thus I am pleased the courts are still open for business despite the shutdown.
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