Federal trial and appellate courts are grappling ever more with requests from U.S. government agencies to postpone cases as the Trump administration’s partial government shutdown enters record-setting territory for the number of days employees have been kept from their offices or forced to work without pay.

The U.S. Justice Department went to court in the days after the shutdown began in late December asking judges to postpone filing dates and hearing schedules until funding is restored to government agencies. Government lawyers argued they can only work in limited circumstances that involve human life and the protection of property. Some judges spurned those requests for delays, while others paused proceedings.