State Court Administrator Milton L. Mack testified Wednesday before the Michigan Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the findings of the 2017 Judicial Resources Recommendations (JRR). In the report, the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) is recommending that the Legislature eliminate four judgeships by attrition, reverse two judgeships pending elimination, convert a district judgeship to a new circuit judgeship, and allow two sets of district courts to merge. The net result of the recommendations will be a reduction of two trial court judgeships statewide.
“Michigan courts are data driven, and we use workload data to make sure the number of judges matches the cases to be heard,” said Mack. “Whether it’s the findings of our public surveys and other performance measures such as recidivism data, we are measuring more and analyzing more in order to improve outcomes for the public we serve.”
These recommendations build on major steps to reengineer Michigan’s judiciary that were accomplished based on previous reports. As a result, 31 judgeships have already been eliminated with 14 more slated for reduction. After accounting for the addition of five judges, the total net reduction is 40 seats, saving taxpayers $19.5 million from 2011 through the end of this year. Based on reductions already implemented, additional savings are nearly $4.7 million annually. If enacted, the recommended new reductions will save an additional $316,880 each year.
These recommendations are based on a detailed two-step analysis that first examines each court’s caseload followed by an extended consideration of local factors, such as population trends and travel between court locations. The report’s methodology was developed by the National Center for State Courts and the Judicial Resources Advisory Committee.
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