Shutdown leads to delays in lawsuits against government

RICHMOND, Va. — During the longest-ever government shutdown, the federal judiciary has remained open, allowing the wheels of justice to keep turning in most criminal cases. But many civil cases have come to a halt because the U.S. Department of Justice doesn't have enough attorneys working to handle them.

Judges have granted the government delays after the Justice Department explained that without funding, its attorneys are barred from working on cases except in limited circumstances, including "emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property."

Among the cases that have been put off:

—A lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's asylum ban on immigrants who illegally cross the southern border.

—A lawsuit aimed at preventing offshore drilling tests in the Atlantic Ocean.

—A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of a man who was shot to death after the 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/shutdown-leads-to-delays-in-lawsuits-against-government/ar-BBSs36I?li=BBnbcA1