(FOX40.COM) — Private attorneys who represent low-income defendants in federal court said they haven’t been paid in more than four months, and now, with the ongoing government shutdown, there’s still no end in sight.

Over 40 attorneys in the Sacramento area are part of the Criminal Justice Act Panel, a group of private lawyers appointed to represent federal defendants who can’t afford counsel. Across the nation, roughly 12,000 CJA attorneys are facing the same problem.

Two major issues led to the current crisis: a software upgrade to the federal court’s payment system and a funding shortfall after Congress cut judiciary funding earlier this year.

Attorney David Fischer said the money simply ran out over the summer.

“Congress allocated money for a budget for defender services, and that

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