The federal trial and appeals courts headquartered in Denver have announced anticipated changes to their operations should the lapse in congressional appropriations be prolonged, with Oct. 17 being a critical date for the judiciary.

In an Oct. 1 letter to all federal judges, public defenders and related staff, Robert J. Conrad Jr., who heads the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, indicated the judiciary can sustain its operations with existing money through Oct. 17 in the absence of congressional funding. That period is known as “Phase 1.”

“During this Phase 1 period of lapse operations, Judiciary employees will continue reporting to work and be in full pay status,” Conrad wrote. During Phase 2, “the Judiciary will operate subject to the Anti-Deficiency Act, which allows excepted activities (including support for Article III judicial authority and necessary activities for the safety of human life and protection of property) to continue during a lapse.”

Jeffrey P. Colwell, the clerk of Colorado’s U.S. District Court, said Phase 1 will be “business as usual.”

However, “internally we attempt to restrict any spending we can to only mission critical expenses,” he said. During Phase 2, any staff who must report to work will not be paid until the government shutdown ends.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, which hears federal appeals arising from Colorado and five neighboring states, will remain open during the shutdown. Chief Judge Jerome A. Holmes cautioned in an Oct. 1 order that case deadlines will not be extended as a result.

Still, “the court will consider on a case-by-case basis requests for extensions of time or for other relief necessitated by a government shutdown,” the order continued.

If Congress does not fund the judiciary by the time of the 10th Circuit’s scheduled oral arguments for November, those proceedings “may be transitioned to Zoom” the court indicated.

Virginia L. Grady, who leads the federal public defender’s office for Colorado, said there are 110 lawyers hired to represent criminal defendants who her attorneys cannot represent due to conflicts or other reasons. They have not received payments since July 3 because Congress failed to appropriate further money. Over 60% of those private attorneys are solo practitioners, said Grady, who have had to stop taking cases, lay off staff or use personal funds to operate their business.

“They should not be asked or expected to work without pay. And yet, over the summer, while not getting paid, most continued to selflessly accept appointments,” she said. “So, here they are today, in the new fiscal year, still not getting paid for months of work. For them, this is the functional equivalent of two shutdowns.”

Her office, she added, would remain open to fulfill the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel for the criminally accused.

A spokesperson for Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes federal criminal cases and represents the government in civil matters, had no comment about the shutdown.