Funding Needed to Keep Federal Civil Trials Running

Federal civil jury trials in the United States probably would grind to a halt if Congress fails to reach a budget deal and $600 billion in automatic spending cuts kick in next year, a leading federal judge said Tuesday.

The federal judiciary's share of the cuts would be more than $500 million if Congress does not reach a budget deal by year's end to prevent some $1.2 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases from kicking in next year, Chief Judge U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said.

Judge: US civil trials at risk without budget deal, Seattlepi.com (AP), Sept. 11, 2012.