The American judiciary has bought itself a little more breathing room. A memo sent to judges across the country confirmed that courts will remain funded and operational through October 17, despite Congress stumbling once again on passing a spending bill to prevent a government shutdown.
The announcement came from Judge Robert Conrad, who oversees the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Just a week ago, the projection was far grimmer—the judiciary expected to run out of money after this Friday. Now, thanks to revised estimates, more than 30,000 employees will still see paychecks land on October 10 and October 24.
But the reprieve is temporary. Unlike the five-week stretch of independence during the 2019 shutdown, when reserve fees kept the system humming, years of flat budgets and rising costs have eroded the courts’ financial cushion. Judges have already warned: there’s no more fat to trim.
If the money runs dry, constitutional protections guarantee that Supreme Court justices and federal judges will still be paid. But clerks, probation officers, jurors, and court-appointed attorneys may find themselves working without compensation. Under the Anti-Deficiency Act, only “essential work” can continue—criminal trials, for example, where the right to a speedy trial is at stake. Civil litigation, on the other hand, may stall, with Justice Department lawyers already moving to pause cases, though not every judge is agreeing to hit the brakes.
In Boston, Judge Patti Saris pushed back against a request to delay hearings in a migrant detention case. “Even if the courts run out of money, we’re open and I’m working,” she said. In Chicago, Judge Virginia Kendall warned that without funds to pay jurors, trials and grand juries could grind to a halt, threatening the integrity of fair representation in the jury pool.
Immigration courts, which fall under the Justice Department rather than the judiciary, will keep pressing ahead with cases involving detained migrants, citing national emergency powers and a crushing backlog of more than 4 million pending matters.
The judiciary hasn’t been forced into widespread furloughs since the Clinton-era shutdown of the mid-1990s. Yet judges are bracing for difficult choices. In Rhode Island, Judge John McConnell said his court may close one day each week if funds vanish. “It is burdensome to figure out how a co-equal branch of government with constitutional responsibilities can operate without appropriated funds,” he said.
For now, the system holds steady. After October 17, however, the courts will be waiting on Congress—and patience is wearing thin.
