Federal govt. shutdown will not close U.S. courts next week

ATLANTA - If you have federal jury duty in Gainesville, Rome, Atlanta or Newnan next week... you won't get out of it if the federal government shuts down tonight.

Northern District Clerk James Hatten said the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts notified federal courts across the country that the government's judicial branch has enough funding to stay open if Congress and the White House fail to reach an agreement to fund the government.

Hatten said the Northern District's courts should remain open even if the government remains unfunded for more than two weeks. But he said that if the government shuts down for an extended period, the court's operations may slow.

There are northern district court offices in Gainesville, Rome, Atlanta and Newnan where trials and other court business are conducted.

(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)