Seventh Judicial District magistrate outlines heavy caseloads and travel demands

Butte County Magistrate Judge Neil Randall told the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee that Idaho's Seventh Judicial District covers more than 20,000 square miles, includes many counties and requires extensive travel that increases judges' out-of-court workload.

"If the judiciary were a hive we would definitely be the worker bees," Randall said, describing magistrates' roles as the primary point of contact for most citizens in Idaho's trial courts. He said a typical magistrate handles about 1,500 cases a year and that 18 of the district's 20 judges handle specialty courts on top of standard dockets.

Randall described a weekly schedule of travel between Butte and Bonneville counties, with 34-mile round trips and an expected 200 "windshield" hours per year assigned by his trial-court administrator but in practice likely double that estimate. He said much of his decision-writing and trial preparation occurs during evenings and weekends because of hearing and travel demands, and he cited a 50% growth in the district since 2020 and a reported 127% increase in civil-protection-order requests.

Randall said judges accept that travel is part of the job and that senior judges often fill in during vacations, but he emphasized the time demands on judges in rural districts and the limits of doing certain hearings via Zoom. He said he prefers in-person testimony for matters requiring credibility assessments.

Committee members asked about vacation coverage and recusal risks in small communities; Randall said judges call colleagues or senior judges when conflicts arise and that small-county judges routinely swap assignments to manage caseloads.

Randall's testimony highlights workload and staffing considerations for rural courts as Idaho's population and case volumes change.