Weekday blizzards two weeks in a row amplified the workload the 7th Circuit juggles daily and illustrated the need for another judge, according to Jeff Davis, the circuit's presiding judge.

Although it's months away, some relief is in sight. The 2009 Legislature funded another circuit judge and the accompanying staff for the 7th Circuit and the Sioux Falls-based 2nd Circuit beginning in July.

Davis estimates it will take at least six months after the funding is available to seat a judge. The judge will be a welcome addition to a judicial system that has seen its workload increase exponentially in recent years.

Pointing at a backlog of work created when recent blizzards cost the court four of 10 work days, Davis said, "I'm wearing out."

The day after the March 30 blizzard, Magistrate Judge Mark Marshall started morning court, which normally begins at 10 a.m., at 3 p.m. Marshall worked straight through until 8 that night to complete a two-day schedule.

The 10 a.m. court session generally handles individuals being held in the Pennington County Jail. For many, that first court appearance results in a bail bond being set for their release - an important factor for the crowded jail, Davis said.

"I've got as good crew down here," Davis said. "We all pull together and try to make it work."

The crew includes six circuit judges and three magistrate judges, plus an accompanying support staff of court reporters and clerks. The 7th Circuit encompasses Pennington, Custer, Fall River and Shannon counties.

The circuit has a budget of more than $5 million. Adding a new judge and support staff will cost about $180,000, Davis said.

The addition of a seventh judge will also require adjustments in the Pennington County Courthouse. The courthouse has six circuit courtrooms on the third floor and two magistrate courtrooms on the second floor. A small hearing room also is pulled into service for magistrate sessions when necessary.

"Our workload has outgrown our capacity," Davis said.

A 2008 South Dakota Unified Judicial System study suggested that the 7th Circuit needed three more judges to adequately cover the case load.

That study found that nearly 20 percent of all case filings statewide occurred in the circuit. Pennington County accounted for 18 percent of those filings.

Davis said he has lobbied the Pennington County commissioners for more space for over two years. It's a request that he knows will not be popular with taxpayers, but the time has come to invest more in the judicial system, Davis said.

Law enforcement benefits from federal and state grants that put a high priority on public safety, Davis observed. But, the judicial system that handles the results of the increased enforcement is frequently ignored.

"We haven't had an increase in the judicial component of circuit, public defender or state's attorney for way too long," Davis said, who has worked for the circuit for more than 30 years.

Until another judge arrives to share the workload, anything that can lighten the burden on the judicial system has to be tried, Davis said.

In an effort to help improve efficiency at the magistrate level in Rapid City, the circuit recently restructured its schedule.

Now, a magistrate judge handles similar tasks during one court session. For example, rather than a judge presiding over a combination case dispositions, defendant pleas or sentences, only one task will be on the agenda. Judges also will be assigned to a case from beginning to end, Davis said.

"I love the new schedule," said Magistrate Judge Shawn Pahlke. "We're doing like things at like times. It's a lot more efficient."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com.