United States District Court

In the event a Continuing Resolution is not enacted by midnight Tuesday, September 30, 2025, many federal agencies will have to implement shutdown plans immediately. The Federal Judiciary, however, will not shut down, and Judiciary employees will be reporting to work as normal on Wednesday, October 1, 2025. Under such a lapse in appropriations scenario, the federal courts are able to sustain paid operations through the use of fee balances and no-year appropriations at least through October 17, 2025. Accordingly, the United States Courts for the District of Vermont will remain open for business as usual. All court hearings and court-related activities will proceed as planned through October 17th. If it becomes apparent that a Continuing Resolution will not be passed beyond October 17th, the Judiciary will be forced to re-evaluate how much longer it will be able to sustain paid operations. If the Judiciary has no available funds to continue operations, each federal district will have to develop operational shutdown plans for performing only excepted activities to avoid being in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act (31 U.S.C. Sections 1341-42). We here in Vermont are currently in the process of developing such contingency plans and will communicate those plans if it becomes imminent that the Judiciary can no longer operate with available funds.