Judiciary asks lawmakers for 29 judgeships, new courtroom technology and a case‑management overhaul

Chief Justice Monica Marquez and State Court Administrator Stephen Vasconcelos told the Joint Judiciary Committee on Jan. 13 that the judicial branch needs new judges, technology and probation staffing to keep pace with caseloads and security needs.

The department asked the General Assembly to approve Senate Bill 25 0 2 4, a two‑year plan to add 29 judges statewide (18 in year one and 11 in year two as introduced), and said it has adjusted the cost estimate for the first year downward from an earlier figure near $13 million to about $9.3 million after correcting personnel assumptions and phasing some furnishing/AV costs with counties.

Vasconcelos said the request is based on updated workload modeling that used time‑and‑motion studies of judicial activities and reflected operational changes since the pandemic. He said the single largest immediate need identified by the department is an additional county court…