A frustrated Kenneth J. King, chief judge of Detroit's 36th District Court, said Tuesday that "we can't continue to function like this."
Since Monday, no Wayne County prosecutors have shown up to handle traffic and ordinance violations, resulting in some cases being dismissed and others adjourned. County prosecutors handle about 30 percent of those cases. Detroit city prosecutors deal with the rest, and continue to appear in court for those violations, which are the biggest revenue generator for the court.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's office said it doesn't have the manpower because it was forced to layoff 26 people Friday due to budget cuts imposed by the county. The prosecutor is suing the county over a $9 million shortfall in its budget. The budget has become a politial battle between Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy and County Executive Robert Ficano.
Judge King met Tuesday morning with Worthy and discussed options to try and minimize the impact of the budget dispute. One possibility, King said, would be to bring a prosecutor to the court once a week to deal with some of the cases until the budget problem is resolved.
"That may alleviate some of the problems we have, but not all," King said. " It's better than nothing. It's not going to be an easy fix."
"She doesn't have the resources," King said of Worthy. " She really is short. I think the prosecutor's message is not a bluff. " He said the prosecutor's office has to staff the Circut Court where there are more serious crimes to address.
Maria Miller, a spokeswoman for the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, declined to say what if any action the office might take to resolve the staff cuts.
She said Worthy will hold a 10 a.m. press conference on Wednesday to discuss the impact of the layoffs and the impact on "the courts and this office."
On Friday, Worthy called Ficano's budget cuts irresponsible and said they put the community in danger. Ficano has accused Worthy of using scare tactics and said she needs to stay within her budget.
