Judges warn rising caseloads, magistrations driving backlog; commissioners consider magistrate or extra clerical support

Justice of the Peace George Norton told the court that his office’s active case inventory is projected to expand and that current staffing is insufficient to match workload growth. Norton reported average new filings of about 151 cases per month (criminal and civil), an active backlog increasing roughly 35 cases per month, and a projected 20.9% expansion in active caseload over the next 18 months. He said magistration duties and weekend work are stretching judges’ time: "When I go on call, we're about averaging 8 deaths a week..." Norton and other justices said magistrations, double entry into the state Public Safety Reporting System (PSRS), and rising filings are driving the workload.

Commissioners questioned whether the right structural fix is additional clerks or a different organizational response. Several county leaders proposed piloting additional dockets (adding Fridays), evaluating whether every JP should receive part‑time clerical support, or creating a dedicated magistrate position to handle jail magistrations and reduce weeks when individual JPs are pulled off their dockets. Norton, noting a paperless magistration project with Tyler and ongoing integration issues with the state system, warned that technology helps but cannot replace needed staff time: "We're entering it twice regardless, but I do believe by going to a paperless registration system... it's gonna cut the time down significantly." The court tasked staff to model staffing scenarios and to bring back cost estimates and operational options.