With nearly three months remaining in the fiscal year, the government ran out of money to pay hundreds of CJA panel lawyers for the work they have done providing public defense representation in our nation’s federal courts. Earlier this year, Congress approved a FY25 spending bill that froze judicial branch funding at 2024 levels. In doing so, Congress turned its back on these dedicated advocates, ignoring the repeated warnings that there was not enough funding. And the House of Representatives recently passed a FY26 budget that would compound the damage, relying on next year’s funding to pay these past due debts. If this version passes, next year will bring even lengthier payment delays and significant layoffs in defender offices. The impact on the federal criminal justice system will be severe and long-lasting.

Please contact your legislators today and ask them to fully fund federal public defense.