Now we wait.
Attorneys representing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met a 9 a.m. deadline today to file the final brief in litigation that could determine whether furloughs resume this week for roughly 144,000 state employees.
The governor's side filed this response to yesterday's arguments by state employee unions that lower court decisions that have stalled Schwarzenegger's July 28 furlough mandate shouldn't be reviewed by the High Court.
Schwarzenegger is arguing that the Supremes should consider the matter because, he contends, Alameda Superior Court Judge Steven A. Brick erred by granting a temporary restraining order that kept Schwarzenegger from resuming furloughs last Friday. The governor says that the First District Court of Appeal compounded that error by denying his appeal to lift the restraining order while the lower court case moves forward.
With this morning's filing, the Supreme Court has all the documentation that it requested. If it renders a quick decision in the governor's favor, "Furlough Fridays" could return this week. A ruling against the governor would stop furloughs until at least next month when more court action is scheduled. A new budget deal or tentative agreements with individual unions between now and then also could affect state employees' work schedules.


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