Two federal judges have very different interpretations as to what President Donald Trump's shutdown means for civil cases involving the Department of Justice.
Last Wednesday, Judge Irene Berger issued a "general order" temporarily suspending civil cases involving DOJ being adjudicated in the Southern District of West Virginia.
The order used the legal term "held in abeyance" to essentially call a time-out on all cases for fourteen days so as to give the federal government time to reopen.
On Wednesday, a fellow federal judge in the Southern District of West Virginia issued a counter order that essentially said, "not in my court."
Judge Joesph Robert Goodwin, who has served on the bench 14 years longer than Judge Berger, issued an "exception order" that means all cases in his court will proceed.
"I find that the government shutdown 'is a dispute internal to one party, the Federal Government,'" he wrote.
"It is my view that the government should not be given special influence or accommodation in cases where such special considerations are unavailable to other litigants," he explained.