TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Oct 17, 2025

Federal courts across the country are preparing to furlough some staff and curb operations on Monday amid the ongoing government shutdown. Furlough notices will be handed out on Oct. 20 “and orderly shutdown activities will commence,” Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts Director Robert Conrad said in a Thursday memo obtained by Bloomberg Law. Conrad said the judiciary “will have no funding to incur obligations or make payments for most activities” now that additional funds have run out. The U.S. Supreme Court says it will run out of money tomorrow, which means the court building will be closed to the public until further notice. It will remain open for official business, according to The Hill. In related news, thousands of lawyers who represent indigent defendants already have been working for over three months without pay. The judiciary expected to pay lawyers on the Criminal Justice Act panel once it received funds for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, but then the shutdown hit. Bloomberg has more on that story.