WASHINGTON – Federal court officials have asked the White House for emergency funding, saying the judiciary does not have the budget flexibility to absorb the large mandatory budget cuts that have caused furloughs in the nation’s federal public defender and court offices.
In a letter sent May 13 to the White House Office of Management and Budget, the U.S. Judicial Conference said the courts need an emergency appropriation of $73 million$41 million for federal public defenders and $32 million for court operations. The money would save 550 jobs in public defender and clerk offices, and prevent 24,000 furlough days for 5,000 employees, the letter states.
