Judicial Branch requests new judges and continues ARPA-funded court-technology rollout

The Idaho Judicial Branch told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee on Jan. 23 that it needs new judges to address rising caseloads and is continuing a multi-year, ARPA-funded court-technology and cybersecurity modernization that will run into FY2026.

Keith Bybee, division manager of budget policy analysis, said the Court Operations budget covers programs including the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district and magistrate courts, water adjudication, community-based substance-abuse treatment and senior judges. Bybee said the branch averaged about 372 full-time positions over five years and that personnel costs make up roughly 70% of the courts’ budget.

Sarah Omanson, administrative director of courts, described a multi-year technology upgrade funded in part with one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations. She said the courts received $19.9 million in ARPA State Fiscal Recovery funds for infrastructure and that most of that work is contracted and obligated; Omanson said roughly $16 million was requested for re-appropriation in the maintenance bill.

"We started really focusing on cybersecurity," Omanson said, describing upgrades including multi-factor authentication, a state court network in every courthouse and a roll-out of Office 365 for court email and document work. "Two factor authentication is getting ready to roll out. Office 365 is about 80% rolled out. We have contracted for and obligated every dollar that we were provided under the ARPA funding."

Why it matters: The branch said caseload growth and population increases have driven requests for judges and infrastructure changes that affect county clerks, courtroom staff and access to court records.

Judges and workload

The branch requested several judicial positions for FY2026, including requests for two district judges with court reporters and two magistrate judges: a magistrate for Twin Falls (Fifth Judicial District) and a magistrate for Bonneville County (Seventh Judicial District). Bybee presented a fiscal estimate for the full build-out at roughly $1.2 million.

Omanson said magistrates handle family law, infractions, guardianships and civil cases under $10,000 and described heavy workloads in the two requested counties: magistrates in Twin Falls open about 1,773 cases per judge per year and Bonneville magistrates open about 1,539 per judge per year. Omanson said Twin Falls has not received a magistrate in 35 years and that judges routinely travel from outlying counties to hear cases there. She also said judges in the Seventh District lose roughly 67.5 workdays per year to travel from distant counties.

Bybee said the governor’s budget included a 5% placeholder for judicial compensation (about $1.7 million) while the judiciary’s own compensation request is larger ($10.2 million). Both judicial compensation and some district-judge requests require statutory changes; Bybee said the committee is waiting to see what policy committees advance.

Court technology and county impacts

Omanson told the committee the technology work is intended to improve cybersecurity and centralized management of court records. She said the project includes creating a state-managed network footprint in county courthouses and offering counties options for how to access protected court systems — either on state-provided devices connected to the state court network or via cloud-hosted desktops accessed from county-owned machines. "We are telling the counties we're going to come into your court houses and we're going to install our network," Omanson said, acknowledging the change can be difficult for counties and clerks.

Keith Bybee noted the Court Technology Fund — driven largely by filing fees in district and magistrate courts — increased collections in FY2024, reporting a 29% year-over-year rise to about $3.4 million, and said the branch expects to take in roughly $21.5 million overall in working cash in the coming fiscal year.

Hiring, contractors and ARPA obligations

Omanson said the branch has used appropriations to hire staff but has encountered recruitment difficulty for specialized IT roles at the funded salary levels. She told the committee that three of five IT positions remain open despite postings and that staff turnover has included several data analysts leaving for higher-paying jobs. The branch agreed to provide estimates to the committee of what salary adjustments would be required to fill vacancies.

Omanson said the ARPA-funded work remains under contract and that the branch expects to continue rolling out infrastructure through 2026; she said counties will continue to have configurable options but that court data and systems must meet higher cybersecurity standards.

Ending

Omanson and Bybee said the branch will provide more detail about the technological rollout and staffing needs on follow-up and reiterated that some judge and compensation requests require separate statutory action before the committee can appropriate funds.