The Hidden Cost of Government Shutdowns on Justice

The Reality of The Government Shutdown

As of October 1, 2025, the federal government has shut down after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. An estimated 900,000 federal workers have been furloughed, and another 700,000 are working without pay. While political debates rage in Washington, a quieter constitutional crisis is unfolding in courtrooms across America.

As Seen on ABC10 Sacramento

Candice Fields spoke with ABC10 News about the constitutional crisis unfolding in federal courts as defense attorneys work without pay due to the government shutdown. "Democracy is at stake," Fields warned. "Without a viable budget, democracy is at risk." Read her full analysis of how the funding freeze is threatening the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.

The federal judiciary, including public defender offices, continues operating through October 17 using court fee balances and other non-appropriated funds. But this temporary reprieve masks a deeper, ongoing crisis: the federal public defense system has been teetering on the edge of collapse for months, and this shutdown threatens to push it over.

The current shutdown is just the latest blow to an already battered system. As of July 7, 2025, funds for panel attorney payments—the private lawyers who take court-appointed cases—were completely depleted. Payments have been deferred until the start of the new fiscal year, creating a shortfall of approximately $116 million. Private defense attorneys in federal courts across the nation who defend indigent clients won't be paid for work they perform between July 3 and September 30.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees every person accused of a crime the right to counsel. It's one of the most fundamental pillars of American justice — and yet, it's a promise that's becoming increasingly fragile.

What Is the 6th Amendment?

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

The key phrase relevant to your article is the final clause: "to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."

This right was further clarified in the landmark Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), which held that states must provide attorneys to criminal defendants who cannot afford their own legal representation.

Across the country, federal defense attorneys who represent people who cannot afford private counsel are facing an impossible situation: they're being asked to uphold the Constitution without being paid for it.

As the government shutdown drags on, the financial freeze has left countless defense lawyers — and by extension, their clients — in limbo. These aren't abstract political debates or delayed paychecks; these are real people waiting for their day in court, and their rights are quietly slipping through the cracks.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees every person accused of a crime the right to an attorney. It's one of the most sacred pillars of American justice—a promise that separates democracies from authoritarian regimes. And yet, this fundamental right is crumbling in real time.

Across the United States, federal public defenders—the attorneys who represent people who cannot afford private counsel—are being asked to do the impossible: uphold the Constitution without being paid for it. As government shutdowns become increasingly common political tools, the financial freeze doesn't just delay paychecks. It suspends justice itself.

These aren't abstract policy debates playing out in Washington. These are real defendants—presumed innocent—sitting in jail cells, watching their constitutional rights evaporate while Congress argues over budget lines.

What Happens When Public Defense Funding Stops?

When the government shuts down, federal public defender offices face immediate financial paralysis. Unlike other "essential" government functions that continue during shutdowns, funding for defense attorneys is often among the first casualties of budget gridlock.

Here's what that looks like on the ground:

• Trials grind to a halt. The adversarial system requires two sides. When defense attorneys can't afford to prepare cases, hire investigators, or retain expert witnesses, the machinery of justice simply stops working. Courts cannot ethically proceed when only the prosecution has resources.
• Defendants remain behind bars longer. Nearly 90% of federal criminal defendants rely on publicly funded defense. When that funding disappears, people who haven't been convicted of anything—people who are legally innocent—remain jailed for weeks or months longer than necessary, waiting for representation the government promised but failed to deliver.
• Cases may collapse entirely. When counsel can't effectively represent their clients, the constitutional guarantee of effective assistance becomes meaningless. Judges may be forced to dismiss cases, declare mistrials, or grant appeals—outcomes that serve neither justice nor public safety.
• Legal expertise drains away. Experienced public defenders, unable to work without pay indefinitely, may leave the profession. The institutional knowledge and skill required for quality defense work doesn't come back easily once lost.

Why Should Non-Lawyers Care About This?

You might think: "I'm not a criminal defendant. Why does this matter to me?"

Here's why: The health of our justice system affects everyone.

The same constitutional protections that defend the accused also protect you. The presumption of innocence. The right to confront your accusers. The requirement that the government prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. These aren't privileges for criminals—they're shields for all of us against government overreach.

When we allow those protections to weaken for some, we weaken them for all.

Moreover, this creates a dangerous two-tiered system: wealthy defendants with private attorneys continue moving through the courts, while poor defendants—disproportionately people of color and those from marginalized communities—watch their cases stall indefinitely. This isn't just unfair. It's the opposite of equal justice under law.

Isn't This Just About Lawyers Not Getting Paid?

No. This is fundamentally about whether constitutional rights are real or conditional.

Defense attorneys face an agonizing ethical dilemma during shutdowns. They've taken an oath to represent their clients zealously, but they're being asked to shoulder crushing workloads and personal financial hardship indefinitely—all while the prosecution continues fully funded.

But the financial burden on attorneys is a symptom of a much deeper crisis: the government's failure to honor its constitutional obligations to the defendants themselves—people whose freedom hangs in the balance while the system that's supposed to protect their rights fails to function.

What Does the Constitution Actually Require?

The Sixth Amendment doesn't include an asterisk. It doesn't say, "The right to counsel shall be provided, budget permitting." It establishes an absolute right to effective assistance of counsel in criminal prosecutions.

In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court recognized that this right is fundamental to a fair trial—so fundamental that states must provide attorneys to defendants who cannot afford them. The Court understood that without competent legal representation, all other rights become meaningless.

Yet what we're witnessing during government shutdowns is a systematic undermining of Gideon's promise. When the government chooses not to fund defense while continuing to fund prosecution, it doesn't just create administrative inconvenience—it violates the constitutional architecture itself.

Justice cannot be conditional on budgetary convenience.

How Did We Get Here?

Federal public defenders aren't government employees in the traditional sense—they're independent attorneys whose funding comes through the judiciary budget. This means that during appropriations battles, their funding can be caught in political crossfire that has nothing to do with criminal justice.

The problem has intensified as government shutdowns have become increasingly common and prolonged. What was once a rare emergency measure has become a routine negotiating tactic, with devastating collateral damage to constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, public defense has historically been chronically underfunded compared to prosecution. Prosecutors' offices typically have larger budgets, more staff, and better resources. During a shutdown, this imbalance becomes catastrophic: fully funded federal prosecutors face unfunded, overwhelmed defense attorneys.

This isn't an accident. It reflects a deeper societal ambivalence about defending the accused—as if providing vigorous defense somehow means being "soft on crime." But the opposite is true: a strong defense system makes convictions more reliable, protects the innocent, and upholds the legitimacy of the entire process.

What Are the Real-World Consequences of The Government Shutdown?

When public defense funding stops, the impacts cascade through the system:

• Pretrial detention extends indefinitely. Defendants who haven't been convicted of any crime remain in custody while waiting for attorneys who can't afford to adequately prepare their cases or challenge detention conditions.
• Case preparation becomes impossible. Defense attorneys cannot hire necessary expert witnesses, conduct investigations, or retain forensic specialists—all while prosecutors maintain full access to government resources and investigative agencies.
• Caseloads become unmanageable. Already overburdened public defenders must continue taking new cases while unable to properly serve existing clients, creating ethical violations and ineffective assistance of counsel.
• Evidence degrades and witnesses disappear. As cases drag on due to funding paralysis, physical evidence deteriorates, memories fade, and crucial witnesses become unavailable—compromising the ability to present any defense at all.
• Constitutional violations compound. The right to a speedy trial, the right to present a defense, and the right to effective counsel all erode simultaneously when the system stops functioning.

What Can Be Done? Solutions to a Growing Crisis

Immediate action:

• Emergency funding provisions that guarantee public defense funding continues during shutdowns, just as funding for prosecution continues
• Judicial intervention where courts enforce constitutional obligations by requiring the government to pay defense counsel or releasing defendants whose rights are being violated

Long-term reforms:

• Mandatory appropriations that treat defense funding as non-discretionary, removing it from annual budget battles
• Parity requirements that ensure public defense offices receive funding proportional to prosecution offices
• Independent funding mechanisms that insulate defense funding from political disputes over unrelated budget items

Systemic change:

• Public education about why robust defense isn't "pro-criminal" but pro-Constitution
• Professional support for public defenders, including competitive salaries, manageable caseloads, and adequate resources to do their jobs effectively

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

We often think of democracy as something that lives in voting booths or legislative chambers. But democracy's true test happens in courtrooms, where the government must prove its case against an individual before it can take away their freedom.

When we allow that process to deteriorate—when we permit constitutional rights to become casualties of budget fights—we don't just harm individual defendants. We erode public trust in the entire system.

Every day that defense attorneys work without pay, every week that defendants sit in jail waiting for representation the government promised but failed to fund, we move further from the ideals that supposedly define American justice.

Constitutional Rights Aren't Optional

The right to counsel isn't a luxury or a technicality. It's the foundation upon which due process, fairness, and equality under law all rest. It's what distinguishes justice from vengeance, law from tyranny.

If we allow that foundation to crack—even temporarily, even during a "mere" budget impasse—the damage to constitutional integrity and public trust may last far longer than any shutdown.

This isn't a crisis that will resolve itself. It requires immediate attention from lawmakers, sustained pressure from citizens, and a fundamental recommitment to the principle that in America, everyone—regardless of wealth—deserves their day in court with competent counsel by their side.

The Constitution doesn't take holidays. Neither should our commitment to honoring it.