Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Court Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Justice of the Peace 4 asks for full‑time clerk as caseloads swell
Summary
Judge Leanna Whitten asked commissioners to convert a part‑time clerk to full time, citing Odyssey caseload reports showing heavy growth in debt claims and evictions and arguing that the current 2.5 clerks leave her court unable to manage administrative and civil backlog.
Judge Leanna Whitten told the commissioners that Justice of the Peace Court 4 is operating with 2 full‑time clerks and a 0.5‑time clerk (2.5 FTE) and that the court's case filings, particularly debt claims and evictions, have risen sharply.
"I am here to ask for moving my full time or part time clerk to full time," Whitten said, presenting Odyssey‑extracted workload reports and county comparisons. Commissioners and court staff reviewed the packet and noted similar JP courts with comparable caseloads typically have about four clerks. Whitten said backlog remains a problem because filing processing, scanning and administrative work are overwhelming current staff; storage rooms hold cases back to 2019 that have not been scanned because of manpower shortages.
Commissioners pressed on possible responses: adding clerk time, outsourcing scanning work, staggered court days or creating a magistrate court to absorb administrative magistrations. The court discussed a magistrate pilot and agreed to convene a focused workshop with all four JPs and jail and bond office staff to gather data, explore space needs and evaluate whether adding clerks or standing up magistration capacity would materially reduce backlog. Whitten said converting the part‑time position to full‑time would make a measurable difference but that more structural changes may be needed for sustained relief.
