Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn of the Northern District of Texas told a group of litigators Friday afternoon that she was “very concerned” for the staff of the courts in her district if the federal government shutdown continues.
She said that the clerks as of now are “operating at full speed,” but will run out of money on Jan. 18 if the shutdown lasts until then. If the shutdown continues indefinitely, people will “chuck it” and look for paying jobs elsewhere.
She said civil attorneys in the U.S. Attorneys’ office are currently on furlough, and mentioned that there are two deputy U.S. marshals who are married so their household currently is bringing in zero income.
“We regard this as our court family and people are suffering,” she said. “These are people that deserve your support.”
After Jan. 18, she said the courthouse will still be open for business, but will just be working for their “joys” of the job, not money.
Perhaps the federal employees in the Northern District who have it the worst are the prison guards. Judge Lynn pointed out they are in a very “stressful” and “dangerous” situation with the shutdown, since they are not getting paid but still monitoring rowdy inmates who are mocking them now more than ever.
Judge Lynn made these remarks at the Third Annual Northern District of Texas Bench Bar Conference at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving.
Shortage on the Bench
The government shutdown is enough of a problem, but if the Northern District needed one more thing to worry about, it’s the vacancies that still exist on the federal bench.
U.S. District Judge Karen Scholer told litigators earlier in the day that there are currently five vacancies in the Northern District of Texas – most of them in Dallas – which is by far the highest amount of vacancies of the 12 total there are statewide. On top of that, the judges that are already on the bench are often being stretched in different directions.
For example, U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater of the Dallas division of the Northern District is also covering for the one vacancy that exists in the Amarillo division.
For the rest of the state, Judge Scholer said there are currently three vacancies in the Southern District (Corpus Christi, Galveston and Houston), one in the Western District (San Antonio) and three in the Eastern District (Sherman, Tyler and Beaumont).
Some of those vacancies, she pointed out, do not even have nominees in the works yet.
She said she doesn’t foresee “any relief in sight” over the next few months, but hopes that some of those spots will be filled by the end of the year.
She encouraged litigators in the room, many of whom represent businesses, that given the high unlikelihood that a case brought now will get to a trial within a year, to utilize the option to consent matters in their cases to the magistrate judges (if their corporate clients are open to it). With the exception of some dud cases, Judge Scholer said the magistrate judges in their district are eager to try most cases that cross their desks.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver, who was on the same panel as Judge Scholer, affirmed this.
“I’m happy to help however I can,” she said.