Daviess County will finally be able to add a second Family Court judgeship at the start of next year, without pulling a judge from another circuit. Rep. DJ Johnson’s House Bill 214 at large rebalances judicial workload disparities statewide, and specifically adds Family Court Judges seats where they are needed most — such as in Daviess County.
Upon the governor’s signature, the bill becomes law effective January 2, 2023.
The new positions, most of which are Family Court judges, would be on the ballot this November. At the time of publication, it’s unclear how candidates will file to run for the new position if they have already filed to run for the existing position. It’s also unclear if there will still be a primary.
Johnson said they identified 18 critical workload imbalances for judgeships — 9 were judges with a workload far above the acceptable level, 9 were significantly lower than what is considered optimal.
“The language authorizes additional judgeships in those districts with high workloads and eliminates judgeships where there are more than are needed,” Johnson said.
Daviess County (which makes up the entirety of the 6th Circuit) was identified as one of the nine with an excess amount of workload.
“This critical need was identified in 2017, and I have been working since then to gain authorization for this judge. This new judgeship will significantly reduce the time it takes to gain a court ruling in family cases, and improve the overall quality of judicial services in Daviess County,” Johnson said.
The 3rd Circuit (Christian County), the 14th Circuit (Bourbon, Scott and Woodford Counties), the 27th Circuit (Knox and Laurel Counties), the 8th Circuit (Warren County), the 25th Circuit (Clark and Madison Counties) and 16th Circuit (Kenton County) will also receive an additional Judges — some being Family Court.
The bill also includes some redistricting, but Daviess County is not affected by that.
