U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn will no longer be holding his usual hearings after hours in his Manhattan courtroom because of the billions of dollars in congressionally mandated federal spending cuts that took effect this month, Bloomberg reported today. “As long as sequestration lasts, 5 p.m. will be the stop time,” Judge Glenn recently told lawyers for bankrupt mortgage company Residential Capital LLC (ALLY). Companies in bankruptcy often keep courts open late seeking approval to continue operating, pay employees or settle creditor disputes. Debtors and creditors may find themselves having to wait longer, now that Judge Glenn and his colleagues are facing their own financial squeeze. Alongside the courts, law enforcement agencies and other components of the U.S. justice system are anticipating shortages of staff, security, and even paper. Congress mandated $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts over nine years, including $85 billion over the next seven months, as part of a 2011 deal to increase the U.S. debt limit. For the federal judiciary this year, sequestration will require cutting $332 million, about 5 percent of its current $6.97 billion budget. The courts are scheduled to learn today how much money they can expect for local court personnel and operations through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, if sequestration lasts.
