Legislature looks at adding judge

EPHRATA - Two Grant County officials are testifying in a Legislative committee to support a third district court judge position.

Grant County Commissioner Carolann Swartz and District Court Judge Janis Whitener-Moberg are scheduled to appear in front of the state House of Representatives' judiciary committee Thursday to discuss the position. 

The committee is conducting a public hearing on a bill adjusting the amount of district court judges in the county. A similar bill is scheduled for a public hearing on Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary committee.

The change in state law is the final step to approve the position, Whitener-Moberg said. If it's approved the new judge position could be filled as early as 2012 and as late as 2014.

Whitener-Moberg said in a previous interview the state Office of the Administrator of the Court lists the county as needing slightly more than four full-time judicial officers in district court. It presently has two judges and one court commissioner.

The change would give judges more time for administration and improvements, she said. It also allows the judges to spend more time with each case. She pointed to the public defender calendar where the judges deal with an average of 200 to 250 cases a day.

Swartz asked the prosecutor's and sheriff's office to give their views about how the change would impact their departments, and plans to present the information, if needed, at the hearing.

"It's important to get their views," she said. "We got a lot of backup in our court system. We don't anticipate this is going to get any smaller. You don't do this on a temporary basis."

If the bill is approved, the new judge position would need to be created and funded by the county by 2014. It will also require an additional clerk position.

"We would not be looking at it until 2012," Swartz said. "By that point, we should have a better feeling about how we're going to fund all of this. We have some money available at the onset."

Whitener-Moberg said the court may have a location for a hearing room in Moses Lake.