Chief Justice Bevan says rural judges need relief

BOISE — Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan on Wednesday highlighted the experiences of rural judges, who are covering increasingly large caseloads and traveling across wide swaths of land, in his annual State of the Judiciary address.

The judicial branch this year is asking for significant pay increases and four new judges in Kootenai, Bonneville and Twin Falls counties to address issues with workloads, recruitment and retention.

“Those solutions have become untenable and are limiting traveling judges’ effectiveness,” Bevan said of judges traveling across counties to help cover cases.

Judges assisting in Kootenai County now cover nearly a full month’s work, which reduces their ability to serve in their own counties, Bevan said. Bonneville County is seeing high volumes of hearings seeking temporary orders, which are emergencies that must be dealt with as soon as possible. Twin Falls County has had three magistrate judges for the last 35 years, despite population growth.

Before the legislative session, Bevan announced major changes the branch would be requesting this year, including increasing judicial pay by around 30% to address issues with judges retiring early to become attorneys and a lack of applicants for openings, the Idaho Press previously reported. Idaho ranks 48th in the nation for judicial pay, according to the 2024 survey from the National Center for State Courts.

Bevan told lawmakers Wednesday that some rural judges spend as many as 200 hours a year on the road traveling from courthouse to courthouse.

“The travel and time on the bench combined leave little time for research and decision writing, which is much of what a district judge is required to do,” Bevan said.

This year, the branch’s recommendation is to set trial court judges’ salaries close to $200,000, which was based on Idaho’s market as well as nearby states’ judicial pay. Every neighboring state exempt Montana pays district judges more.

The proposal would set Supreme Court justices’ salary at $215,000, which is an approximately 27% increase over their current pay. The other judges’ pay is set based on the higher courts’ pay in steps set in code. The proposal would put Court of Appeals judge pay at $207,000, district judges at $201,000 and magistrate judges at $193,000.

He is also asking that, in the long term, the Legislature create a citizens’ compensation committee that would make recommendations on judicial pay — similar to the existing Citizens’ Committee on Legislative Compensation, which recommends salaries for legislators.

Judicial pay is set in state law and requires a bill to amend the law each year. In the past, the bill to set pay has been tied to policy changes — a move the judicial branch has opposed.

“We believe that the pay for every public servant — judge, legislator, the people who manage our water and the people who promote our economy — deserves to be decided based on the position and the nature of the work,” Bevan said.

Bevan said the issue has led to fewer applicants for openings as well as lower retention. Judges in Idaho are elected, but if someone leaves before their term is up, then the Idaho Judicial Council is tasked with sending three qualified applicants to the governor for appointment. Five years ago, there were an average of 11 applicants for district judge vacancies. Last fiscal year, the average dropped to 4.6 applicants. In some cases, there were only three applicants total, Bevan said.

Of the judges who announced retirement in fiscal year 2024, one-third went on to practice as an attorney; two-thirds of judges in the current fiscal year are expected to do the same, Bevan said.

“Until the last couple of years, this has been exceptionally rare,” he said. “And when judges leave, the investment the state has made in recruiting and training leaves with them.”

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.