Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has signed a bill that creates new judicial positions in the circuit courts of Douglas and Lane Counties.
Lane County is set to get two more judges; Douglas County will get one additional judge.
The new positions are aimed at quickening the pace at which filed cases are reviewed, said Kathleen Johnson, the presiding judge of Douglas County.
“We’re adding one judge so it's not going to be a huge shift,” she said. “But I think we are going to see cases moving through the docket a little bit faster than they were moving before, because we’ll have more judges to hear them and process them.”
Johnson said Douglas County has been requesting additional judges in legislative proposals for eight years, and it’s been at least 40 years since it saw an increase in judges.
“It’s not so much that the process of getting a new judge is time consuming, I think it’s that the legislature has fiscal constraints,” Johnson said. The legislature has been, “trying to [fulfill judicial needs] a little bit at a time, as they can afford to do it. Because obviously, adding a judge comes at a cost.”
According to a Judicial Workload Study by the Oregon Judicial Department, Douglas County would need three more judges to properly correspond with the number of cases being filed.
Johnson said if Kotek doesn’t appoint judges, the elected positions may be on the ballot for voters in 2026, as the primaries for this year's election have already passed.
