The program that pays court-appointed private attorneys to represent indigent federal criminal defendants ran out of money July 3, causing a three-month delay in paying the attorneys and their related service providers for constitutionally mandated legal work, according to U.S. Courts News, the online data and news service of the federal court system.
The continuing resolution to fund the government for fiscal year 2025 passed by Congress in March froze all judicial branch funding at the fiscal year 2024 level, which resulted in funding running out early. Because of the hard freeze of the funding level, money is not available within other judiciary accounts to address the gap.
The attorneys can’t be paid until Oct. 1, when the federal budget’s new fiscal year begins.