D.C. Courts Face Funding Shortfall Amid Surging Caseload and Security Threats

Flat federal funding since fiscal year 2023 has left the District of Columbia’s trial and appellate courts stretched thin. Officials report that criminal filings have risen 150 percent and domestic-violence misdemeanors about 37 percent since 2023. The criminal clearance rate fell from 108 percent to 60 percent over three fiscal years, indicating cases are being filed faster than they can be resolved. Prior to the pandemic, roughly 10,000 people entered the courthouses daily; that number is “creeping back up” as a federal-directed crime crackdown increases arraignments.

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The courts are asking Congress for $298.1 million for the next fiscal year—a $35 million increase intended to handle the workload, bolster cyber and physical security, and preserve essential services. An additional $10 million is earmarked for security upgrades after about 800 investigations into threats against judges. Lawmakers have meanwhile approved a budget that would cut D.C. Courts funding by $18 million in fiscal 2027, a reduction equal to the courts’ entire annual security budget or the cost of processing roughly 3,600 criminal cases.

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About three-quarters of the courts’ budget goes to personnel services; the remainder covers janitorial and security contracts. With no local authority to adjust funding, district officials say the lack of “political levers” forces the system to choose between critical security investments and maintaining court operations.

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Herbert Rouson Jr., executive officer of D.C. Courts, warned that the system has reached a “critical inflection point” and that continued flat funding would force cuts that exacerbate delays. Chief judges Anna Blackburne-Rigsby (D.C. Court of Appeals) and Milton Lee Jr. (D.C. Superior Court) stressed that adding judges alone cannot resolve the backlog without accompanying workforce and infrastructure support. Bridgette Stumpf, executive director of Volare, highlighted that limited capacity erodes public confidence and imposes hidden financial and human costs.

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• “We have certainly reached a critical inflection point,” — Herbert Rouson Jr

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• “Funding levels have remained unchanged since fiscal year 2023, but the demand for court services has actually surged since that time,” — Herbert Rouson

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• “Every case that’s filed, we have to do something with it,” — Herbert Rouson

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• “That would just force us to choose between some critical security investments and compromising our court operations and the delivery of service that really the public has come to expect of this court, and that we feel the public is really due,” — Herbert Rouson

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• “D.C. doesn’t have the ability for local politicians to assess what’s causing caseload increase and make a political decision locally,” — Thomas

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• “Efficiency matters, but there is a floor: When limited capacity leads to delays or errors, confidence in the process rightfully erodes,” — Bridgette Stumpf, the executive director and co-founder of Volare

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