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2d ago

DC Courts Buckle as Trump’s Federal Prosecution Surge Overwhelms System

A White House–backed push for harsher charging plus more pretrial detention collides with vacant judgeships, overtaxed jails, thin defense resources.

Members of the US Secret Service and FBI detain a man outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, on August 14, 2025.
From left: FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Phillip Bates, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, the head of violent crime and narcotics trafficking for the US Attorney's office David Hancock and Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Pamela Smith, during a news conference in Washington, DC, on August 26, 2025.
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Overview

  • Federal filings in Washington have jumped from roughly a half-dozen new defendants per week to nearly that many a day, sometimes into double digits, according to court records and sources.
  • Grand juries have rejected multiple prosecutions, including a case that failed to win an indictment three times and the high-profile allegation of a sandwich thrown at a federal officer.
  • Magistrate Judge Zia Faruqui reprimanded the Department of Corrections for holding a woman nearly 24 hours after his release order and warned that systems are not keeping pace with the influx.
  • DC Superior Court detention dockets have topped 100 on several days and felony trials are being set into 2027, with a court spokesperson calling the situation unsustainable.
  • Under US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, prosecutors are pressing the most serious charges and seeking detention more often, magnifying strains on jails, courts with 13 judicial vacancies, and the federal public defender’s office.