Justice Department asks courts to pause high-profile cases for shutdown

Source: Washington Examiner | December 26, 2018 | Kelly Cohen

The Trump administration asked federal courts nationwide to pause proceedings in a handful of high-profile cases, citing the ongoing government shutdown.

In a handful of court papers filed Wednesday in courts across the country, the Justice Department said they “regret any disruption” but department lawyers are currently unable to perform their duties required for the cases.

“Although we greatly regret any disruption caused to the court and the other litigants, the government hereby moves for a stay of all proceedings in this case until Department of Justice attorneys are permitted to resume their usual civil litigation functions,” Justice Department lawyers wrote in court papers filed Wednesday in courts across the country.

The court papers said the Justice Department will notify judges “as soon as Congress has appropriated funds for the department. The government requests that, at that point, all current deadlines for the parties be extended commensurate with the duration of the lapse in appropriations.”

“The department does not know when funding will be restored by Congress,” the filing says.

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One of the biggest cases affected is on the administration’s new asylum policy.

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It was not immediately clear how many cases are affected by the shutdown.

The federal court system said they have sufficient funding to remain open for at least three weeks.

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