Judiciary budget increases; St. Mary's judgeship request and juvenile caseload spike draw scrutiny

The subcommittee reviewed the Judiciary’s fiscal 2026 allowance on Feb. 17, 2025, where the Department of Legislative Services reported a $31.7 million increase (4.1%) over FY25 and recommended multiple reductions and reporting requirements. Jacob Polakove of the Department of Legislative Services told the committee the fiscal 2026 allowance reached “a total of $813,400,000,” and that the increase included funding for new positions, salary increases for judges and court staff, and security improvements at district court facilities.

Why it matters: DLS recommended abolishing five newly requested positions, including a circuit court judgeship for St. Mary’s County, citing DLS workload modeling and certification analysis; the judiciary pushed back, saying local trial patterns — including a sharp rise in contested jury trials — are not fully captured by the model and require an additional judgeship.

DLS recommended deleting the St. Mary’s judgeship and two…