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Vol. 35, Number 8—August 2003 Judiciary Exhausts Emergency Reserve To Head Off Shortfall Before leaving for August recess, Congress passed HR 2859, a bill making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2003. The bill's sole beneficiary was the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which would have run out of money in August. This left all other fiscally strapped organizations—including the Judiciary—without additional funding. The Judiciary had submitted a $32.2 million request for supplemental funding to cover a shortfall caused by the anticipated expenses of an additional 15 district judgeships, and higher than anticipated Criminal Justice Act (CJA) representations and juror days. With no time to lose, the Judiciary exhausted its $10 million emergency reserves in order to address shortfalls of up to $5 million for fees for jurors and an estimated $15 million for CJA representations. "To avoid an outright cessation of civil jury trials from early August until the start of the next fiscal year on October 1," Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King (5th Cir.) wrote to all federal judges, "the Executive Committee has decided to reprogram money from an emergency reserve in the Salaries and Expenses of the courts account in an amount sufficient to cover critical trials." The infusion of funds allows the continuation of civil jury trials and continued payments into mid-September for CJA attorneys. The Judiciary requested Congress' permission for this reprogramming, and will continue to work with Congress to ensure sufficient funds either in a FY 2003 supplemental or in new funds appropriated in FY 2004. Unfortunately, reserves are insufficient to cover the housing expenses of the 15 new judgeships in this fiscal year. Several judges have been confirmed and will enter on duty in districts where courtrooms, chambers, and equipment may be nonexistent. For more on this developing problem see, "New Judges, No Room."

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