County receives initial approval for magistrate

Monday, October 9, 2017

INDIANAPOLIS — Putnam County’s two judges, who the numbers say do the work of three judges, will get to appeal to the Indiana General Assembly for additional judicial resources.

On Thursday, the Interim Study Committee and Courts and the Judiciary approved requests for additional judicial officers or courts in four counties, including Putnam.

Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley and Superior Court Judge Denny Bridges will now have the chance to make their case to the General Assembly when it convenes for its 2018 session.

Sen. Rodric Bray (R-Martinsville), who serves as the chairman of the study and represents about half of Putnam County, will now author a bill that must go before the state budget committee as well as the House and Senate.

Given the relative need locally, Bridges is cautiously optimistic about the county’s chances.

“There were four counties that were there requesting a magistrate. Of those four, we were number two in terms of a need,” Bridges said. “We are number five among all 92 counties.

“It sounded promising, but there are no guarantees,” the judge added. “They have to consider the fiscal impact because the state pays that position.”

According to the weighted case load metric of how busy a court is, the county has had a combined score around 3.0 for several years. The recommended number for a single judicial officer is 1.0, meaning Putnam County is just about perfect for a third officer.

By this rating, Putnam County ranks fifth in terms of need.

The proposed third judicial officer would not be a judge, nor would it mean adding an additional court to the county.

Instead, Bridges explained to the committee that the third officer would be shared between his court and Headley’s, handling “routine” motions.

In a letter to the committee as well as county officials regarding the need, the judges desribed themselves as the “neck in the hourglass” that keeps cases from moving through county courts as quickly as they should.

The judges said there’s enough staff in place for the current need and even enough space, considering there’s a small third courtroom on the third floor of the Putnam County Courthouse.

However, with only two judges to go around currently, cases are delayed.

The county has operated with two judges since 1976, when Putnam Superior Court was added.

The magistrate’s salary would be paid by the state, just like those of the judges, so it should have no fiscal impact.

The magistrate would be appointed by Bridges and Headley, not elected like the two judge positions.

The other two counties seeking a magistrate position are Jefferson and Scott, while Kosciusko seeks the creation of a fourth superior court.

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