The wheels of justice came to a halt Friday as budget problems at the state level forced the Kansas Supreme Court to order the closure of courtrooms across the state.
Friday was the first of four scheduled mandatory furlough days for court staff.
Douglas County’s judges still reported to work, but without court reporters and support staff, the majority of hearings had to be postponed.
Essential hearings, such as first appearances for defendants in criminal cases and juvenile detention hearings, still went on as scheduled.
It also was an inconvenience for anyone scheduled to appear in traffic court Friday, starting at 8:30 a.m.
Those hearings had to be rescheduled for another day, and traffic court normally scheduled for Fridays will not be held on any of the future furlough dates.
The court trustee's office and the district attorney's office were not affected by the furloughs because they are county employees.
The courts, including the court clerk's office, also will be closed next Friday and on April 23 and May 7.
Comments
commuter 4 years ago
Maybe an idea would be make as many people as possible salaried employees so you don't have to pay overtime
g_rock 4 years ago
Best way to save money on our county court: stop the 1 1/2 hour lunches and early dismissals during trials. Start at 8 am, not 9am. That extra time = less days on a case.
Machiavelli_mania 4 years ago
This is a GOP led legislature.
SettingTheRecordStraight 4 years ago
Perhaps these small cuts to government spending will help more Kansans realize that there are massive costs associated with operating our country's bloated federal, state and local governments.
nobody1793 4 years ago
How about every saturday is "no highway patrol" day.
justfornow 4 years ago
I really wonder what has happened to our tax and fee's that were set aside years ago to pay for this....goverment sucks!!!!! and will never get any better.
Richard Payton 4 years ago
Yankeevet maybe the court system could charge admission for the spectators and provide a point system for seating!
compmd 4 years ago
I wonder how the right to a speedy trial will play into this.
Stuart Evans 4 years ago
If only there were a handful of ridiculous laws on the books that could be removed which would cost our society so much less money...
yankeevet 4 years ago
There is money for the sporting events games; and salaries; but no money for the court system??? Whats up with this???
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