Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea says the new governor and legislature “can expect to hear a lot from me” as they make decisions on the state budget for the next two years. Gildea says the court system is requesting additional money to keep judge and staff salaries competitive — and is also asking for two new judgeships. “Case load demands, particularly in the areas where more judicial time is required, are growing,” she says, “Child protection cases, serious criminal cases — these are areas where we’ve seen significant increases.”
Gildea says they’re also seeking additional money to sustain treatment courts, plus more funding for psychological services, “an area where we have seen a big increase in terms of the demand for psychological examinations, and so we’re hoping that the legislature and the governor will help us fill a hole that we’ve got there, just because of the increased number of people we’re seeing in our court system with mental health issues.”
Lawmakers are back at the Minnesota Capitol two weeks from today.