Judiciary details court technology buildout and asks for judges and magistrates amid rising caseloads

The Idaho Judicial Branch told the Joint Finance Preparation Committee it is continuing a multi‑year court technology modernization and is seeking additional judicial resources to address rising caseloads and travel losses in several districts.

Administrative Director of the Courts Sarah Omanson and budget analyst Keith Bybee described a multiyear infrastructure effort begun after cybersecurity concerns and funded in part by ARPA State Fiscal Recovery funds. Omanson said the court has obligated ARPA dollars and is rolling out technical protections including multi‑factor authentication, an Office 365 migration for court business, and a state court network to standardize protections across county courthouses. "We are telling the counties we're going to come into your courthouses and we're going to install our network," Omanson said, noting the rollout is complex and that the court has provided counties options to maintain county workflows while still protecting court data.

Why it matters: committee members queried whether counties were accepting the new arrangements, how ARPA funds were spent, and whether the court planned to continue using its current vendor for case management. The judiciary said much of the ARPA funding is contracted and obligated, that the remaining reappropriation request is to complete rollout, and that it plans an RFI to survey current case‑management options.

Court technology and ARPA spending

- The Judicial Branch said earlier ARPA appropriations (about $19.9 million originally referenced) were used to assess and upgrade court infrastructure and cybersecurity; the branch reported it has obligated ARPA funds and does not expect to fully finish the program until late FY2026.

- The Court Technology Fund collections were described as growing from about $2.9 million in FY2023 to about $3.4 million in FY2024; the analyst said year‑over‑year collections for the core technology fund rose about 29% and the fund carries a working cash balance (the transcript cited an $18.8 million fund balance and an expected $21.5 million in receipts in FY2026 projections). The fund is driven largely by filing fees.

- The judicial administrative office is rolling out Office 365 for court business, two‑factor authentication and a statewide state‑managed network in courthouses. Omanson said Office 365 rollout is roughly 80% complete and multi‑factor authentication is being prepared for broader deployment.

Case management vendor and RFI

- The branch uses Tyler (Odyssey) for case management under a multi‑year contract. Omanson said states vary in vendor choices and that the branch will issue a request for information (RFI) in the coming months to understand current market options; she emphasized this is an exploratory step, not an immediate migration plan.

Requests for judges and magistrates

- The Judicial Branch submitted enhancement requests that include judicial compensation (placeholder for a 5% governor recommendation versus the judiciary's larger request) and requests to add judges and court reporters. Bybee listed requests that were part of the judiciary submission: district judges and court reporters in the First Judicial District (Coeur d'Alene) and Seventh Judicial District (Idaho Falls), plus magistrate judge requests for Twin Falls (Fifth Judicial District) and Bonneville County (Seventh Judicial District). The combined full build was presented in the submission as roughly $1.2 million for judicial resources; several items require statutory change and separate policy bills.

- Omanson explained magistrate caseloads: in Twin Falls a magistrate opens about 1,773 cases per calendar year, and magistrates may hold up to 24 hearings a week. Twin Falls has not received a new magistrate in 35 years, the branch said. In Bonneville County the magistrates open about 1,539 cases each and travel time from outlying counties causes an estimated loss of 67.5 judicial workdays annually; adding a magistrate reduces travel losses and increases court capacity.

Workforce and hiring challenges

- Omanson said the Judicial Branch historically has about 372 authorized positions and spends roughly 93.5% of its personnel appropriation on average. She reported difficulty filling several IT and data positions at the budgets appropriated, noting three of five IT positions remained vacant despite recruitment and that some staff left for higher paying jobs. The branch asked the committee for updated salary estimates it could use to better recruit and retain needed technical staff.

Committee follow up and next steps

Legislators requested clearer, written breakdowns of ARPA expenditures and of the IRIS‑like modernization in the Judicial Branch, plus the vendor landscape once the RFI is issued. Omanson said the branch will supply more detailed cost breakdowns and that the attorney‑of‑record portal (built in‑house) was expected to be live within about 30 days to provide attorneys access to case records.

Ending note

Omanson noted seven judges had announced retirements since July and that hiring for the bench is becoming more difficult; she argued the judiciary carefully prioritizes judicial requests and typically places judges high on the administrative conference’s priority list. "We don't ask if we don't need them," she said.