Notice from the Central District of California

Due to the federal government shutdown, the Central District of California will be forced to implement limited operations beginning Monday, October 20, 2025, and orderly shutdown activities will commence.

The federal judiciary nationwide has exhausted all available non-appropriated and no-year funds and will move into a non-paid status effective Monday, October 20, because Congress has not passed a continuing resolution or appropriations bill to fund the Third Branch of government. The Judiciary is required to abide by the terms of the Anti-Deficiency Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 1341 et seq. We regret any inconvenience to you and your clients resulting from this unfortunate government shutdown.

Although court staff will be in an unpaid status, the district court will continue to hear and decide both criminal and civil cases. The clerk’s office will accept and timely process all civil and criminal filings, continue regular administration of the jury and grand jury system (including payment of petit and grand jurors), and collect and deposit fees and costs into the Treasury. The clerk’s office will also process registry fund transactions and restitution disbursements. Court reporters will continue to transcribe proceedings and produce transcripts. Naturalization ceremonies will cease. Court security services, including security screening at all courthouses, will continue as usual.

Staff will generally not be available to respond to inquiries that are not related to case administration, and the ability to provide other forms of customer service will be diminished. Attorney admission work will continue, but certificates of good standing will not be issued. Oaths will be administered, but no new ceremonial events, school or civic group tours, or trainings will be scheduled.

The court’s website will not be updated unless necessitated by an emergency. The clerk’s office will not be able to issue Pay.gov refunds. An appropriate contingent of IT staff will keep the Judiciary’s systems functioning and perform work necessary to protect the systems against cyberattacks; however, IT staff will not be able to troubleshoot or help with CM/ECF problems that are related to an external user’s IT system. Attorney Wi-Fi services in the courtrooms will remain available absent a system outage.

Regrettably, CJA panel attorneys (private lawyers appointed by the court to represent indigent defendants) have not been paid or received expense reimbursements since July and will remain in a non-pay status until appropriations are restored. Submitted CJA vouchers have been audited and are in line for payment at the earliest opportunity. As of October 20, CJA attorneys should continue to submit vouchers for payment; however, new vouchers cannot be reviewed or audited until the Judiciary is funded. The vouchers will be maintained in order of receipt for immediate review and will be given priority once the Judiciary receives funding.

Contractors have been notified of our inability to pay or enter into new financial obligations. With rare exception (for example, due to a life-safety issue), we will not be able to obligate funds for repairs and alterations of our courtrooms or courthouses. Projects that were obligated in a previous fiscal year will proceed. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we navigate this unfortunate situation.