Representative Auxier urges funding for court commissioners to ease caseload backlog
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Summary
Representative Auxier told the Appropriations Committee that Utah courts face increasing caseloads and urged funding for court commissioners and staff — a lower-cost option than adding judges — citing district-level shortfalls in judicial officers.
Representative Tiara Auxier told the Appropriations Committee on Feb. 11 that Utah’s trial and appellate courts are strained by growing case loads and that funding more court commissioners and staff would be a cost-effective way to accelerate case processing.
"Just the amount of case loads that they have that they aren't able to keep up with," Auxier said, arguing that commissioners and their staff can move cases along at lower taxpayer cost than adding judges. She presented district-level estimates of judicial officer need, saying the Third District could use roughly 4.5 additional judicial officers, the Second District about 1.9, and the First District about 0.6.
Auxier said she traveled through the districts she represents (District 4, which she described as stretching "Park City to Bear Lake") to meet with judges and court staff and hear where capacity is most constrained. She also noted recent dissolutions of some local justice courts in Salt Lake and Logan and suggested the state should examine reallocating positions if appropriate.
The committee did not take immediate action on the RFA during the meeting; Auxier closed by offering to answer questions and committee leadership moved on to the scheduled voting items. No formal vote on the RFA was recorded in the transcript.
