ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —

Private defense attorneys used when federal public defenders are unavailable are refusing to take on new federal cases.

The attorneys are paid by funds established by the Criminal Justice Act.

Those funds ran out of money in July because Congress had not approved additional funding.

In a letter obtained by KOAT, the group emphasizes this has nothing to do with the government shutdown.

Attorneys who were assigned cases prior to July are will continue with those until they are over.

But they say without attorneys paid to take on new cases, the situation could lead to cases being dismissed because defendants will be unable to receive trials in the time frame guaranteed under the Constitution.

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