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Where the Money Goes — FY 2007
Nearly five months of fiscal year 2007 lapsed before the
Judiciary received its appropriation; until then the courts had operated
at fiscal year 2006 funding levels. By mid-February, the Judiciary was
finally able to disperse $5.98 billion to its judicial branch accounts.
Of the Judiciary’s total funding, 5 percent funds the
Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the Court
of International Trade, the Administrative Office, the Federal Judicial
Center, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Judiciary Trust Fund.
The remaining 95 percent goes to the Courts of Appeals, District Courts,
and Other Judicial Services—for the Salaries and Expenses, Defender
Services, Court Security, and Fees of Jurors accounts.
Of the four accounts, the Salaries and Expenses account
receives 79 percent of the funding, the largest share. From this
account, courts must pay rent, judges’ and court personnel salaries and
benefits, their operating expenses, information technology and other
expenses.
The Defender Services account receives 14 percent of the
money, funding federal public defender and community defender
organizations, compensation for private attorneys representing indigent
defendants, and fees of persons providing inves- tigative, expert, and
other services under the Criminal Justice Act.
The Court Security account receives 7 percent. This
account provides funds, which are subsequently transferred to the U.S.
Marshals Service and the Federal Protective Service, for the
procurement, installation, and maintenance of security equipment, and
for protective services, including contract security officers for the
courts.
The Fees for Jurors account, 1 percent of the court’s total funding, pays for juror fees and expenses.