Hiring freeze for state judgeships is lifted

The Utah Judicial Council has given the go-ahead to lift a hiring freeze for state district judges, and five positions are slated to be filled, although the selections will be spread over several months as a cost-saving measure.

The first slot to be filled will be a replacement for 8th District Judge John Anderson, who will retire Sept. 1. Following that, a successor will be sought for an existing vacancy on the Utah Court of Appeals.

Then there will be a search to replace 3rd District Judge Sheila McCleve and 4th District Judge Gary Stott, both of whom are retiring July 1. At that point, efforts will be made to find a new appointee to replace 2nd District Judge Rodney Page, who is retiring Sept. 1.

The Administrative Office of the Courts has cut 65 other positions and made a number of other efforts to manage state-required budget cuts.

However, court officials say the judicial appointments are necessary and note that overall court filings have jumped 17 percent when comparing figures from July 2007 to April 2008 and July 2008 to April 2009.

In many respects, the court filings reflect the nation's tanking economy, with criminal matters up 4 percent and domestic issues up 8 percent. But cases involving items such as custody and child support have jumped 20 percent, civil matters are up 19 percent, contract disputes rose 46 percent and tax liens are up 54 percent.

The council faces further challenges at its July meeting, when it addresses the retirements of three more judges. They are 4th District Judge Howard Maetani and Utah Court of Appeals judges Pamela Greenwood and Russell Bench.

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