Requests for judicial resources

A study committee on courts and the judiciary reviews requests for new courts, new judicial officers, and changes in jurisdiction of existing courts every two years (even-numbered years). State law outlines the requirements for such requests and directs the Office of Judicial Administration to post them online.

Requirements under Indiana Code 2-5-1.3-13

Any requests must include at least the following information to receive full consideration by the committee:

1. The level of community support for the change, including support from the local fiscal body.
2. The results of a survey that shall be conducted by the county requesting the change, sampling members of the bar, members of the judiciary, and local officials to determine needs and concerns of existing courts.
3. Whether the county is already using a judge or magistrate from an overserved area of the judicial district.
4. The relative severity of need based on the most recent weighted caseload measurement system report published by the office of judicial administration.
5. Whether the county is using any problem solving court as described in IC 33-23-16-11, and, if so, the list of problem solving courts established in the county, and any evaluation of the impact of the problem solving courts on the overall judicial caseload.
6. A description of the:
   • county's population growth in the ten (10) years before the date of the request; and
   • projected population growth in the county for the ten (10) years after the date of the request, to the extent available; and any documentation to support the information provided under this subdivision.
7. A description of the county's use of pre-incarceration diversion services and post-incarceration reentry services in an effort to decrease recidivism.
8. If the request is a request for a new court or new courts, an acknowledgment from the county fiscal body (as defined in IC 36-1-2-6) with the funding sources and estimated costs the county intends to pay toward the county's part of the operating costs associated with the new court or new courts.