Budget Cuts Start To Hurt Courts
From the Legal Times
The effects of this month's steep federal budget cuts are becoming clearer in court districts across the country, with judges, clerks and legal agencies from California to New York announcing courthouse closings and furloughs.
In Colorado, U.S. Chief District Judge Marcia Krieger ordered an end to hearings and trials in criminal cases on every Friday for five months, from April 26 through September. The federal public defenders, prosecutors and marshals face furloughs, Krieger wrote, and they are "integral to proper adjudication of criminal matters."
As in Colorado, other courts are targeting Fridays for closures because the supporting agencies and their attorneys will take furloughs. The clerk of court in the Central District of California announced it will severely curtail services at its three courthouses on seven Fridays from April through, accepting only mandatory and emergency filings.
A month after the $350 million budget cuts for the courts, part of a mandatory $85 billion government-wide cut called sequestration, many of the consequences are still unknown.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Legal Times
The effects of this month's steep federal budget cuts are becoming clearer in court districts across the country, with judges, clerks and legal agencies from California to New York announcing courthouse closings and furloughs.
In Colorado, U.S. Chief District Judge Marcia Krieger ordered an end to hearings and trials in criminal cases on every Friday for five months, from April 26 through September. The federal public defenders, prosecutors and marshals face furloughs, Krieger wrote, and they are "integral to proper adjudication of criminal matters."
As in Colorado, other courts are targeting Fridays for closures because the supporting agencies and their attorneys will take furloughs. The clerk of court in the Central District of California announced it will severely curtail services at its three courthouses on seven Fridays from April through, accepting only mandatory and emergency filings.
A month after the $350 million budget cuts for the courts, part of a mandatory $85 billion government-wide cut called sequestration, many of the consequences are still unknown.
Read more in our daily News Update...