Colorado state court officials plan to ask lawmakers to add 49 new district judges and eight new county court judges throughout the state by 2011 to help the court system handle rapidly increasing caseloads.
The request is part of a judicial branch budget proposal that also says the Colorado Court of Appeals, which received funding for six new judges from legislation approved this year, will need six more judges by 2011.
Under the proposal, to be presented to the Joint Budget Committee on Tuesday, the judicial branch will ask for 13 district judges in 10 judicial districts across Colorado for the 2007-08 fiscal year, and 36 more in the next three fiscal years.
The need for new judges and court staff reflects the state’s rapid population growth, officials said.
“There is a lot of hidden infrastructure that is necessary with growth,” said Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck. “We think of roads and water and schools, but growth has ramifications that are unseen, and these are some of those ramifications.”
