Passaic County assignment judge cites judge, staff shortages as two new courtrooms go under construction

Passaic County Assignment Judge Rudy Filco told the county commissioners at their Jan. 7 reorganization meeting that the court system is operating with significant staffing shortages while construction starts on two new courtrooms.

Filco, introduced at the meeting as the assignment judge for Passaic County, said the courts are “down approximately 70 staff employees at this time, which is 14% of our allotment through the Administrative Office of the Courts.” He added, “currently, we are still down, as we sit here today, five judges out of our allotment of 27.” Filco told commissioners those two judgeship vacancies will grow to seven at the end of February because two judges plan to retire.

Why it matters: Filco described hiring and turnover trends that affect case processing and courtroom scheduling, while the county also takes on major construction and restoration projects in courthouse facilities.

Filco said court leadership has hired a number of managers and other experienced personnel since he took the assignment judge role 19 months ago, noting “we've hired five new division managers, six assistant…