Magistrate judges tell Senate panel they are on-call around the clock, face heavy caseloads and growing mental-health demands

Three Idaho magistrate judges told the Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee that their daily and after-hours responsibilities are extensive and that unmanaged mental health is increasing workload across family, juvenile and criminal dockets.

Brian Murray, a senior (retired) judge who introduced the presenters, said three judges represented Idaho’s 101 magistrate judges and thanked the committee for hearing their perspective.

Reagan Jamieson, Ada County Magistrate Judge, described on-call duties that require magistrates to be available for probable-cause findings at any hour so law enforcement can obtain warrants. Jamieson said that officers often call at night and the magistrate must listen to facts, assess whether probable cause exists and, if so, issue a warrant. She stressed magistrates’ role balancing victims’ and community protection with constitutional safeguards: “What I’m listening for is probable cause … it’s more probable than not that a crime has occurred,” she said.

Jamieson gave specific workload figures for her district: “In 2024, Ada County magistrate judges signed a total of 2,556 warrants. We handled on average of about 18 after hour and weekend calls per rotation and we spent on average over an hour hearing probable cause for…