The Utah Judicial Council ended an unprecedented hiring freeze for judges on Wednesday by approving the replacement of five positions.
But the move raised concerns for Senate President Mike Waddoups, who last week told state court administrator Daniel Becker during a meeting of the Judicial, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice interim committee that Becker needed to reduce expenditures, not incur additional expenses.
When informed Wednesday that the council had ended the hiring freeze, Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said, "One way [court officials] were trying to balance their budget was by holding some of those positions open."
"If they are going to fill them all up, we'll have to re-evaluate their budget in January," added Waddoups, who sits on the legislative committee that funds the courts.
Waddoups said that in the meantime, he might have the fiscal analyst's office review the court's finances.
Referring to a bill passed this year that raised court filing fees, Waddoups said, "If [court officials] are going to raise court fees and use it to hire judges, that's limiting the public's access to the courts," Waddoups said.
"They're a different branch of government," Waddoups said. "That doesn't mean they're above making some of the budget adjustments everyone else is making."
The freeze on hiring judges was instituted by the courts in January to help balance their 2009 budget. Court officials also eliminated 65 staff positions and made numerous other cuts.
But court officials say the increased number of court filings and the anticipated retirement of additional judges means they need to immediately start the hiring process, which can take up to four months.
The council hopes to have a replacement for retiring 8th District Judge John Anderson by September, followed by new judges on the Court of Appeals and in the 4th, 3rd and 2nd court districts.
Even once those positions are filled, there will be three additional vacancies by January because one district court judge and two more Court of Appeals judges are retiring. The council said they would discuss filling those vacancies at their July meeting.
Court officials said they are saving money -- about $10,000 per month per judge -- by launching the searches for candidates about two months apart over the next 10 months.
The staggered schedule also seeks to ease the burden on the new governor and a reconstituted Judicial Confirmation Committee. The governor interviews judicial candidates and picks a nominee. The nominee then goes before the confirmation committee, which decides if they should be sent to the full Senate for confirmation.
