ORLANDO, Fla. — Despite cost-cutting efforts, the nation's federal courts are funded only through January 25.
- Federal court workers faced with dilemma during shutdown
- Attorney: Some federal lawyers are prohibited from working without pay
- Still, he says they're ethically obligated to represent their clients
- FULL COVERAGE: Government shutdown
Central Florida attorney David Haas was a former federal prosecutor for 10 years and has lived through government shutdowns before.
He said whether it's the prosecutors, federal judges, or the clerk's office that supports their work, everyone in the courts will feel the effects of this partial government shutdown, now a month long with no end in sight.
"The thing that's difficult maybe for people to grasp is that federal employees, especially in the court system for the most part ... are not allowed to get another job, and they can't just temporarily quit a job to get another job and then come back," Haas said.
"Any outside employment has to be approved either by the court system or the Department of Justice."
So when the court system runs out of money, essential staff will have to perform critical duties unpaid.
Criminal cases should continue without interruption, but "the civil side is where things get really complicated, because you have civil federal employees that are attorneys for the government that are actually in many cases prohibited from working during a shutdown," Haas said.
Their lawsuits may move forward, but some judges may pause those proceedings until there is funding.
"Ethically, whether you get paid or not, lawyers are still obligated to represent their clients. That being said, it's difficult, because in the federal government if you are prohibited from working, it's actually if you work more than I think 15 minutes a day just to stay up to speed, they can actually fire you," he said.
For federal court workers, something as simple as not being able to fix a broken copier or printer can make the grind of working without pay even more challenging.