BOSTON (AP) -- More than three dozen Massachusetts state courts will be cutting back afternoon telephone and office hours for clerks and registers to deal with staff shortages.

Robert Mulligan, the state's chief justice for administration and management, said Tuesday court sessions and emergencies won't be affected. He says the changes taking effect Sept. 19 will give workers time to catch up important paperwork.

Mulligan says the courts have lost 15 percent of their staffs since 2007, and had budget cuts of $85 million over the last three years.

District court offices affected include Attleboro, Barnstable, East Brookfield, Fall River, Framingham, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lynn, Lowell, Malden, Natick, Newburyport/Ipswich, Palmer, Somerville, Springfield, Stoughton, Taunton, Uxbridge, Waltham, Westborough, Woburn and Wrentham.

Other cutbacks affect Housing, Juvenile, Land and Probate and Family courts.

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