HB 1556

Title: An act relating to district court judges.

Brief Description: Authorizing one additional district court judge for Clark county.

Sponsors: Representatives Moeller, Orcutt, Boldt and Fromhold; by request of Administrative Office of the Courts.

Hearing Date: 2/11/03

Staff: Aaron Anderson (786-7119), Trudes Tango Hutcheson (786-7384).

Background:

The Legislature sets the number of elected district court judges in each county, and may increase the number of district court judges in any county only upon the recommendation of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court bases its recommendation on an objective workload analysis of the need for additional judges in a county performed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The analysis takes into account a variety of factors, including how much time existing judges in the county currently have to hear cases and how much judicial time is needed for various kinds of cases.

The addition of a new district court judge position is conditional upon the agreement by the county legislative authority to pay all costs associated with the creation of the new position. A county may take up to two years to phase in new judicial positions created by the Legislature.

There are five elected district court judges in Clark County. The objective workload analysis for this county indicates a need of 0.5 additional judicial officers in the county.

Summary of Bill:

An additional district court judge position is authorized for Clark County, bringing the total number of district court judges authorized for the county to six.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.