Committee sends requests to print for two new district judge positions in Kootenai and Bonneville counties

The Idaho Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to send two request statutes to print that would add district judge positions to address heavy caseloads and population growth in two areas of the state.

Jason Spellman, legal counsel to the Administrative Office of the Courts at the Idaho Supreme Court, described RS 31,981 as a request to add a district judge position chambered in Kootenai County (First Judicial District). Spellman told senators that the First Judicial District — which comprises Boundary, Bonner, Kootenai, Shoshone and Benewah counties — currently has seven district judge positions and that population growth and caseloads have led to judges from outside Kootenai traveling into the county frequently to keep cases moving.

Spellman described RS 31,982 as a request to add a district judge position chambered in Bonneville County (Seventh Judicial District). He said the Seventh Judicial District covers 10 counties and more than 20,000 square miles and that judges in that district spend an “inordinate amount of time” in travel, reducing their availability for hearings, research and decisions.

Senator Wintrow moved to send RS 31,981 to print; Senator Ricks seconded the motion and the committee approved it. Senator Ricks then moved to send RS 31,982 to print; Senator Wintrow seconded and that motion also carried. The committee did not take final action to create the positions; printing RSs is a preliminary step that enables a merits hearing and fuller legislative consideration.

Spellman said the number and location of district judge positions in Idaho are established in Title I, Chapter 8 of the Idaho Code and that adding judges requires amending that statute. He said the Administrative Office of the Courts and trial court administrators identify needs during the budgeting process and prioritize positions where caseload and geography create the greatest strain.