The remaining $5.0 million is for projected defense representation and related expert costs for high-threat trials, including high-threat cases in New York and Boston that, absent sequestration, the Defender Services program would have been able to absorb without the need for supplemental funding.
Congress allowed DOJ to move $313 million around to avoid furloughs. Courts don't have the same type of accounts with which to move funds around. It's only right the same ability to avoid furloughs and funding cuts by the Government be applied to the courts, federal defenders, CJA counsel and probation.
The Court's letter states:
We are aware that the U.S. Department of Justice is not furloughing staff so we anticipate the pace at which criminal cases requiring appointment of defense counsel will continue unabated, while resources in the Defender Services program are diminishing. Between October 2012 and April2013, FDOs downsized by 113 employees and other employees were furloughed. Further FDO cuts and the anticipated suspension of panel attorney payments will create the real possibility that panel attorneys may decline to accept Criminal Justice Act appointments in cases that otherwise would have been represented by FDOs.
Delays in the cases moving forward may result in violations of constitutional and statutory speedy trial mandates resulting in criminal cases being dismissed.
What the cuts mean:
Consequently, the primary options for absorbing the $52 million sequestration cut are reducing FDO staffing levels and/or deferring payments to private panel attorneys. Reducing FDO staff results in appointments being shifted to panel attorneys thus increasing those costs, and deferring panel attorney payments into fiscal year 2014 only adds to fiscal year 2014 appropriations requirements. Absent supplemental funding, the Judiciary will need to suspend payments to private panel attorneys for the last 15 business days (3 weeks) of the fiscal year, and FDOs will need to further reduce costs through staffing cuts and by furloughing employees for a national average of approximately 15 days for the remainder of the fiscal year.
