Budget shortage leads attorney group to refuse new cases

A group of criminal defense attorneys currently representing indigent federal defendants in New Mexico — without pay — is refusing to take on new cases until Congress solves the budget “crisis.”

In a letter to Chief U.S. District Judge Kenneth Gonzales of New Mexico, more than 50 lawyers, interpreters, paralegals and others who represent federal criminal defendants under the Criminal Justice Act said they will continue to work on their currently assigned cases. But they say they can’t accept new appointments from the judiciary because of the “untenable strain” caused by the lack of funding.

“The goal is not to make the court’s job difficult,” said Albuquerque lawyer Ryan J. Villa, New Mexico’s CJA counsel representative. “It’s to get Congress’ attention.”

Congress intentionally underfunded CJA attorneys last budget year, so the funding ran out in July, said the letter. The lawyers and their contractors were waiting for past due payments for their work when the government shut down Oct. 1.

Even if the government reopens, Congress has proposed to underfund CJA again in fiscal year 2026 by $494 million below the requested amount, Villa said in his letter.

CJA lawyers nationwide represent about 40% of indigent federal defendants, according to the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Federal Public Defender’s office handles the remaining 60%, but has a hiring freeze, Villa said. Federal defenders, who represent indigent defendants, also are not getting paid.

Villa said not all CJA attorneys in the state signed onto the letter, but across the country, others representing federal defendants are also declining new cases.

Federal prosecutors elsewhere have argued that federal judges can force CJA attorneys to take criminal cases without pay, but it’s unclear what will happen in New Mexico.

Gonzales, in a statement to the Journal on Thursday, said “It remains critically important that Defender Services be fully funded as soon as possible so that federal criminal cases can proceed in an orderly manner. This is very true in federal courts, like our court in New Mexico, that are located along the U.S.-Mexico border where we have a high volume of defendants and an equally high need for competent attorneys.”

“The list of attorneys on the letter to our Court not only is long but also includes a wealth of experience and expertise, in criminal immigration, complex drug trafficking, child sex abuse, Indian County, and in death penalty cases,” Gonzales said.

The lawyers’ letter states that as officers of the court, they are bound to provide effective representation to indigent defendants.

“The more CJA cases we take on, the more harm we risk doing to our existing CJA clients because that means more time spent on other work for income streams and less time available to our indigent clients.”

At the same time, Villa told the Journal, “We don’t want people sitting in jail indefinitely because they don’t have a lawyer or denied their speedy trial rights.”

CJA lawyers rely on expert witnesses, interpreters, investigators and others for the defense of indigent clients, the letter adds, but those individuals “have been forced to seek work elsewhere and have begun to decline taking CJA cases. Without their assistance, counsel cannot effectively represent their clients.”

In mid-October, U.S. District Court Judge David Urias of Albuquerque agreed to delay a death penalty case after defense attorneys for Labar Tsethlikai, 52, contended their client’s constitutional rights were impacted by “the failure of the United States to fund his defense.”

Tsethlikai, who was arrested in April 2024, is in federal custody awaiting trial on federal charges of murder, kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, serious assault and aggravated sexual abuse related to an alleged pattern of predatory and sexual violence.

“We are fearful of providing an inadequate defense and depriving a man of his Constitutional rights in a literal life or death situation,” wrote defense attorney Hadley Brown last week. “The United States is trying to kill Mr. Tsethlikai. They are simultaneously asking the Court to ignore the fact that his Defense is not fully funded.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico asked the judge to deny the defense request for a stay of the proceedings, contending it was merely a tactic to “delay justice.”

Urias wrote in a ruling that “the right to a defense is one of the bedrock principles of this country, and the shutdown has unquestionably impeded Defendant’s right to counsel in this case.”