Federal courts across the country are playing catch-up after the partial federal government shutdown, with the harshest effects hitting the civil docket rather than criminal cases, The Hill reports. Without money to pay its attorneys during the 35-day funding lapse, the Department of Justice successfully convinced judges to put a number of cases on hold or push back filing deadlines, including several high-profile challenges of Trump administration policies.
With money now available to keep the government open through at least Feb. 15, judges have started to lift the stays they issued. But, much like the immigration court backlog, civil cases don’t immediately pick up where they left off. During the shutdown, it was largely up to individual judges to decide whether to hit pause on certain proceedings. Federal courts remained open by using money collected in court fees, but all hiring, non-case-related travel and training was halted in an effort to save money.