The Court of International Trade on Oct. 17 said that it will remain open despite the lapse in federal appropriations, adding that it will "continue all excepted activities" under the Anti-Deficiency Act and follow the Guide to Judiciary Policy.
Court of International Trade Chief Judge Mark Barnett on Oct. 16 restricted electronic access to sealed documents in light of a "recent escalation in cyberattacks on the CM/ECF systems of federal courts." While sealed documents will continue to be filed in the CM/ECF system under "existing procedures," non-court users no longer can access or view these documents "by electronic means," the court said.
The Court of International Trade's Pay.gov system will undergo maintenance Nov. 8 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT, the court announced. Documents requiring payment with this system can't be filed on CM/ECF during this time.
The Court of International Trade's network will undergo maintenance from 10 p.m. Oct. 17 to 4 a.m. Oct. 18 ET, the court said. During this time, the court's website, CM/ECF and PACER "may experience intermittent outages."
The Court of International Trade's CM/ECF system will undergo maintenance Oct. 18 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. EDT, the court announced. The court said the CM/ECF system will not be available during this time.
The Court of International Trade announced that Pacer.gov will undergo maintenance Oct. 12 6:55 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. During this time, users may experience difficulties when "logging onto CM/ECF and when making payments through Pay.gov."
Court of International Trade Judge Timothy Stanceu joined many of his colleagues in granting the government's motions to stay its case before him, pending the federal government shutdown. Like other CIT judges, Stanceu ordered the government to file a status report within 10 days of the appropriations lapse ending to establish new filing deadlines (see 2510020051).
Court of International Trade Judge Gary Katzmann granted the government's stay request in various cases before him, due to the federal government shutdown. The judge gave the U.S. five days to file a status report after the shutdown ends to propose revised deadlines for the cases. Katzmann's approach differs slightly from the other judges, who largely also stayed the cases in which the U.S. had requested a pause, though the judges gave the U.S. a range of seven to 14 days to file a status report (see 2510020051). Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves extended the government's deadlines "commensurate with the duration of the lapse in appropriations," while Judge Jane Restani was the only judge to deny the stay motions, writing that the U.S. can seek specific relief if a deadline looms before the end of the shutdown.
Court of International Trade Judge Thomas Aquilino is now an inactive judge at the trade court, CIT Clerk of Court Gina Justice confirmed to Trade Law Daily. Judge Mark Barnett reassigned the cases pending before Aquilino to other CIT judges. Justice said Aquilino, who was appointed to the court in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan, is "subject to recall if needed." The judge assumed senior status in 2004.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Oct. 1 said it will "remain open for business and will maintain sufficient staffing as necessary to continue to support the court's constitutional and statutory obligations" through the government shutdown. The court said all scheduled arguments will proceed as scheduled, including the arguments set for both Washington, D.C., and Boston for the October 2025 session of the court. Electronic case filing will remain open through the CM/ECF system, and all filing deadlines will remain in effect, the court said.