The Chief Justice’s concerns about a long-term continuing resolution point out the potentially adverse impact on the entire court system.

A summary of the impact:

• Post 9/11 security efforts would be severely curtailed.
   
• Payments to private lawyers retained for indigent defendants under the Criminal Justice Act would fall short.
   
• More than a month’s worth of civil jury trials would be halted because of insufficient money to pay juror fees.
   
• Courts would freeze hiring so both new and vacant probation officer positions would go unfilled, which would lessen the supervision of potentially dangerous felons released from prison.