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GREENSBORO — Guilford County’s chief district court judge is warning that state budget shortfalls may force the cancellation of a session of civil court each week.

In a letter sent to attorneys Monday, Judge Joseph Turner warned that cases will likely be delayed and court scheduling will become unpredictable as judges scramble to hear as many cases as possible.

The warning of possible closures was provoked by a notice Turner got from the Administrative Office of the Courts that the state could no longer fund “emergency judges,” something Guilford courts depend on to fill in when judges must be absent.

Guilford County has 14 district courts and 14 district court judges. Judges must be absent from court sometimes, so Guilford County relies heavily on the fill-in judges, according to court officials.

In his letter, Turner said the impact may be large enough to force the closure of one session of civil court in Greensboro or High Point every week.

Turner said in the letter that civil court is the least disruptive court to cancel.

“We cannot delay juvenile cases at all, and the daily influx of misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases is an increasing tide that cannot be put off,” he wrote.

Even when all judges are at work, Guilford doesn’t have enough judges for all of its cases. The Center for State Courts, a national nonprofit organization that studies courts, and the N.C. AOC found that Guilford County’s per-judge caseload warrants 15.6 full-time judges, Turner wrote in his letter.

The number of judges in each district is set by the N.C. General Assembly.

Sharon Gladwell, a spokeswoman for the AOC, said the courts are subject to the budget crisis facing all of state government and the AOC has to spend only on things that are absolutely necessary.

“We recognize that there is a need in Guilford County,” Gladwell said. “We want to work with them to meet the need.”

Greensboro attorney Drew Brown said cutting the number of courts operating will be more than an inconvenience as cases are delayed — it will harm people’s rights.

“Our judges are working really hard,” Brown said. “But the reality is our clients are frustrated by the delay that already exists.”

Brown spent his day Tuesday calling his clients to warn them their cases will likely have to wait even longer than the 14 to 16 months that is already typical.

“I have old clients who may not even be around to get their day in court,” Brown said.

District Attorney Doug Henderson said he didn’t anticipate the freeze on emergency judges would affect Superior Court.

“If we start closing criminal and traffic court, we’ll have a big impact,” Henderson said.

Contact Sonja Elmquist at 373-7090 or sonja.elmquist@news-record.com