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Utah judiciary warns of falling applicants and heavier caseloads, urges pay increases and more judges
Summary
The chief justice told a legislative commission that fewer people are applying for judgeships while judges’ workloads have risen, citing reclassified crimes, more digital-warrant work and a near-tripling of warrant requests; the judiciary asked the commission to support cost-of-living and salary increases and noted the need for more judges.
Chief Justice (name not specified) told the commission that the Utah judiciary is seeing “an alarming trend of fewer and fewer applicants for judicial positions” and urged the panel to recommend cost-of-living and salary increases to help attract candidates.
The request came during a presentation about workload and recruitment pressures. The chief justice said judges are leaving private-sector pay for public service only when the role is sufficiently compensated and stressed that salary gaps with private law firms were a major factor reducing applications.
Judge David Connors, a commission member, asked whether statutory changes have increased judges’ day-to-day workload. “There are a lot of areas where, because of legislative development, we are asking our judicial officers to do more without sort of offering anything in exchange for that,” Connors said.
Marco (judicial staff, weighted caseload studies) told the commission the judiciary uses weighted…
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