County courts won’t close entirely

Statewide furloughs start Friday

A statewide court-employee furlough this Friday will cause most Douglas County District Court offices to close, but some court services will still function.

Judges will still be on the job, as will court staff who are paid through the county, Court Administrator Linda Koester-Vogelsang said.

She said judges have continued all of the cases scheduled for Friday that they can. Anyone who has a court date scheduled for Friday and has not been notified should still appear in court or call the court trustee’s office, 832-5315, that day to check.

Traffic and limited civil action answer dockets will continue as scheduled Friday, as will the docket of petitions for protection from abuse and protection from stalking orders. Anyone seeking to file a protection from abuse or stalking request that day should complete paperwork in the court trustee’s office on the first floor of the judicial center, 111 E. 11th St.

The district court clerk’s office will be closed Friday, so people will not be able to pick up marriage licenses, pay traffic fines, file legal actions or conduct other business at the clerk’s office.

Anyone with an appointment with a community corrections officer should attend the appointment as scheduled, and probationers who have appointments with court services officers Friday will need to reschedule them.

The Kansas Supreme Court last week ordered five furlough dates for 1,500 court employees statewide because the House and Senate have not yet approved a supplemental budget that included $1.4 million needed by the judicial system to make payroll through June 30. In addition to this Friday, furlough days will be April 27, May 11, May 25 and June 8.