Federal Judiciary Budget Crisis and Government Shutdown Ends Funding for Indigent Defendants, Raising Serious Constitutional Concerns

Federal Judiciary Budget Crisis and Government Shutdown Ends Funding for Indigent Defendants, Raising Serious Constitutional Concerns

On October 17, 2025, the fed­er­al judi­cia­ry announced that start­ing on October 20, the branch would no longer have the funds need­ed to ​“sus­tain full, paid oper­a­tions.” This lat­est devel­op­ment is a direct result of the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment shut­down that began on October 1. Until fund­ing is restored, fed­er­al judges will con­tin­ue their bench duties, but court staff may only per­form ​“activ­i­ties” nec­es­sary for con­sti­tu­tio…

Government shutdown affects California lawsuits

U.S. federal courts are running out of funding to continue important cases, such as California lawsuits, and are now being restricted to only limited operations, stalling the legal battles between the state and the federal government.  The three-week-long government shutdown beginning on Oct. 1 has been impacting the ongoing California lawsuits against the federal government, such as those about gender-affirming care and health research funding,…