Short answer: Meet every deadline unless the court says otherwise. Federal courts are not funded like Cabinet agencies. They can run for a time on fee collections, then scale back non-required work. Your case does not pause just because other parts of government have lapsed.
Why courts are different
The federal judiciary has a separate appropriation and collects filing fees. In recent shutdowns the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has said courts can continue paid operations until those balances run down—often described as roughly two weeks, though the actual runway depends on cash on hand. After that, courts keep functions required to support the exercise of the judicial power and postpone others.
That is not the same rule that applies to a typical executive-branch office.
What happened in the 2025 shutdown
The October 1 – November 12, 2025 shutdown followed the two-stage pattern described above.
| Period (2025) | Judiciary operations |
|---|---|
| October 1–17 | Paid operations continued using fee balances |
| From October 20 | Limited operations began; judges continued to work, while staff performed only excepted work without pay |
| November 12 | Shutdown ended |
In practice, the runway lasted a little over two weeks. After that, individual courts posted their own limited-operations notices describing which work would continue—the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California is one example. Because each court decides how to apply judiciary guidance, the local notice is the document to read.
Each lapse can differ, and the length of the runway depends on balances at the time. For the full timeline, see the 2025 government shutdown.
What usually continues
- Criminal cases, including speedy-trial obligations
- Matters involving imminent risk to life or property
- Emergency civil relief the court determines cannot wait
- Public defender and court-appointed work the court still authorizes
- Electronic filing systems, when the court keeps CM/ECF available
What may slow or pause
- Some civil trials and conferences
- Naturalization ceremonies scheduled at a courthouse
- Naturalization and other administrative support that depends on furloughed executive-branch staff
- New juror calls that are not needed for going-forward trials
- Non-case administrative projects
Bankruptcy courts, magistrate judges, and circuit courts publish their own notices. A district that is fully staffed in week one may look different in week four.
What litigants and jurors should do
- Read the order in your case. It controls.
- Check the court’s own website the morning of a hearing.
- File on time through CM/ECF or the method the court still accepts.
- If you are a juror, follow the summons until the court releases you.
- Do not assume a shutdown extends an appeal deadline.
Court employees are judiciary personnel. Their pay and furlough rules come from the judiciary’s plan, not from a Cabinet department’s spreadsheet. For executive-branch employees who appear as witnesses or counsel, see federal employee pay.
Official sources
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
- U.S. Courts newsroom
- U.S. Courts: judiciary still operating as shutdown starts (October 1, 2025)
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, C.D. Cal.: limited operations during lapse in appropriations
- Individual district, bankruptcy, and circuit court websites linked from uscourts.gov
If the issue is an IRS deadline rather than a court order, use the IRS shutdown guide.