Massive cutbacks amounting to some $7 million in self-imposed reductions hit the Kentucky court system yesterday, according to a Cincinnati.com article this morning.
The cutbacks announced by Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. will eliminate more than 100 jobs, abolish family and juvenile drug courts and trim the budgets of Kentucky's appellate courts, the article said.
In abolishing family and juvenile drug courts, effective Jan. 1 an annualized savings of $1.5 million is expected to be realized. The plan also imposes 3 percent cuts on the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals budgets, amounting to $140,500 for the high court and $226,400 for the appeals court.
With court filings in Kentucky having hovered around 1.2 million in the past two or three years, Chief Justice Minton said the cuts were targeted to try to minimize the impact. "Our goal would be that we continue to deliver the same level of service, but we're going to be stretching our personnel to do that."
"Meanwhile," the article continued, "the courts could become a victim if state lawmakers fail to pass a new executive branch budget by July 1. That budget funds the operations of prosecutors, law enforcement and public defenders — 'the people who make the cases move through the system,' in Minton's words."
Kentucky Supreme Court’s Press Release
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