The Maine Judicial Branch could add more judges, clerks and other additional courtroom staff if the Legislature passes a bipartisan spending package this week.
As part of budget agreements reached in the Legislature this year, two new judges would be funded in 2024, while additional marshals, clerks and other staff would also be added over the next few years.
Barbara Cardone, a spokesperson for the Maine Judicial System, says that while the new positions will help keep up with new cases and transition to electronic filing, they won't make a large dent in the lengthy current case backlog.
"We're not seeing a sharp increase, we're seeing a pretty steady level of cases filed," she said. "But unless we see a sharp decrease, we're not going to be able to catch up and maintain, based on what we have."
Cardone said that the system could also add new trainers to help work with staff members on new electronic systems. She said that should help relieve the burden on senior staffers who've had to manage the task until now.
"So training helps in a number of areas, to improve the efficiency in the system," Cardone said. "So that's why those positions were so very important to us, that we got them from the Legislature."
A recent study found that the state needs nine more judges and more than 50 additional clerks just to handle its current caseload.
The Legislature is likely to vote on the budget deal later this week.
