Print edition: 
TOPEKA — State budget cuts will require courts to furlough employees for four Fridays, shutting down trials and most hearings, the Kansas Supreme Court said.
Justice Lawton Nuss sent a letter to non-judicial court employees Friday saying they would have to take unpaid leave on April 9, 16 and 23, and May 7.
State courts had originally braced to be closed for 30 days.
But lawmakers passed supplemental funding, and the judicial branch cut shortfalls further by not hiring, by eliminating temporary workers and by using federal stimulus funds.
The hiring freeze has left 100 vacancies in courthouses statewide. Not using temporary workers resulted in "a de facto layoff of 193 employees who were performing necessary services," Nuss said.
"This is another unfortunate example of how our state budget crisis is affecting real people, including dedicated public servants," Gov. Mark Parkinson said.
The state needs to find more revenue instead of cutting services, he said.
The unpaid leave means that for those four days, courts will be left without clerks, reporters to transcribe hearings and administrative assistants for secretaries.
That will shut down trials and most hearings.
Judges will still be able to complete some court business, including signing arrest warrants, approving wiretaps and setting bonds for jailed defendants.
Juvenile judges can also conduct temporary detention hearings, issue warrants and conduct some child-in-need-of-care hearings.
All but 2 percent of the judicial budget goes to salaries.
