Budget Chair testifies to sequestration's impact on federal courts
July 25, 2013
Washington, D.C.: On Tuesday, Federal Judge Julia Gibbons testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts to address the impact of the sequestration on the federal courts. During the hearing, Judge Gibbons noted that federal judiciary personnel are set to lose another 1,000 positions in 2013, in addition to requiring furloughs tantamount to 8,600 workdays.[1]
The Federal Public Defender program, who represent approximately 90 percent of criminal defendants, has downsized its budget by 6%. Another area of concern is that funding for courthouse security has decreased by 30%.[1]
Judge Gibbons, who is the Chair of the Budget Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States, said:
| “ | Our workload does not go away because of budget shortfalls. Deep cuts mean that the Judiciary cannot perform adequately its Constitutional and statutory responsibilities.[1][2] | ” |
In addition to cuts already made in 2013, continued budgeting at this level for the next fiscal year would require eliminating thousands more court and federal defender positions. Judge Gibbons has appeared before subcommittees since the sequestration has taken affect to update the Judiciary Committee on the budget's impact on the court.[1]
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