Jennings County officials weigh creating referee position after state ends magistrate posts

Jennings County commissioners heard a proposal to create a county referee to perform work now handled by the magistrate role that the state plans to eliminate under House Bill 1144, which the presenters said takes effect Dec. 31, 2025.

County staff told the commissioners the referee would be a locally created position that would operate only if state grant funding or other external dollars are available; the county’s contribution would be "minimal," the presenter said. Judge Smith and other court staff described the magistrate’s work as valuable and urged planning to avoid disruption if the magistrate position is removed.

The request was procedural: staff asked commissioners to approve creating the position on the county’s organizational chart so it could be hired if funding appears. Commissioners did not vote to create or fund the role at the meeting.

Why it matters: county presenters said the magistrate has handled a meaningful share of family-law and other dockets since 2021, and the state’s caseload study drove the decision to eliminate the magistrate post. Court staff and at least one judge argued that losing the magistrate could bounce cases between courts and slow case processing, particularly in an election year for several criminal-justice offices.

Discussion and public comment: - County staff said they discovered the pending change in April and proposed the referee as a stopgap if state or grant funding is available. The staff member told the commissioners the referee position would "at least be there if it can be funded by state resources and then potentially a small amount of county resources." (County staff member) - Judge Smith outlined timeline and impact and said the magistrate position was created during 2020–21 and has since provided “immeasurable” assistance to the court’s workload. (Judge Smith) - Commissioners asked for concrete figures before taking action. One commissioner asked for (1) a proposed funding-source breakdown showing how much would fall to Jennings County taxpayers and (2) data correlating court backlog to jail population to help evaluate downstream costs if the position is not maintained. - A member of the public who identified himself as a local attorney and longtime practitioner recommended against creating the position, arguing the county has more judicial capacity than in the past and calling the magistrate role unnecessary given current caseloads.

Next steps: court staff agreed to provide monthly caseload figures and the proposed salary/funding breakdown, with the presenter saying the caseload data could be delivered within a week and all requested information by the next meeting. The commissioners said they would reserve decision until they review those materials.

No formal motion to create or fund the referee position was passed at the meeting; commissioners recorded the item for further review and requested the additional materials before any decision.