Indiana lawmakers approve reduced court eliminations

Legislators authorized a few court closures Thursday while approving the biennial court officers bill. It’s the first time lawmakers are eliminating judges that are underutilized.

“Statewide, we have the right number of judicial officers,” said Fishers Republican Rep. Chris Jeter. “The question is, are they in the right places?”

Two weeks ago, the Senate added language taking away judges in 11 mostly rural counties. But the conference committee report — approved 83-5 in the House and 45-4 in the Senate — eliminates only one court in Blackford County, one court in Monroe County and one magistrate in Jennings County.

It also removes several unfilled magistrate positions in Marion County.

House Bill 1144 — which adds judges and magistrates in Elkhart, Hamilton, Lawrence and Vigo counties — had moved through the entire session without language abolishing courts.

Then, on April 10, hours before a committee deadline, an amendment was added in the Senate Appropriations Committee eliminating one court each in Blackford, Carroll, Gibson, Greene, Jennings, Monroe, Newton, Owen, Pulaski, Rush and Scott counties, along with six juvenile magistrate positions in Marion County.

State panel recommends judicial reallocation from low- to high-need counties

This provision was estimated to save the state approximately $748,885 in Fiscal Year 2027 and up to $2.75 M in Fiscal Year 2032, according to a fiscal analysis.

Lawmakers from those areas were deluged with concern from constituents.

The general idea of reallocation was discussed in a study committee in October 2024. Essentially, Indiana uses a weighted caseload study that assesses how much judicial time is needed for different types of cases. Then it looks at how many cases are filed to determine how many judges and magistrates are needed for the caseload.

For years, lawmakers have added state-funded court officers when the statistics have shown more judges are needed to handle additional cases. But as population has shifted away from some rural counties, they have never taken a judge away — even if the weighted caseload shows they have too many court officers.

The weighted caseload study shows, for instance, that Monroe County has 10 judges but only needs 7.87. Blackford County has two judges, but the study shows it needs less than one.

Sen. Liz Brown, R-Fort Wayne, said “these are never easy decisions” but that population shifts mean some counties aren’t seeing as much crime or as many lawsuits.

Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said he doesn’t disagree with the premise but said the process should have been set out well in advance. He noted the House never heard testimony on eliminating judges.

He said Monroe County is losing a court because one of the judges announced she is retiring.

Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, thanked his colleagues for giving the Carroll County courts a reprieve. He said the Delphi double-murder case “really upset” the court system there.