Delaware County has taken the first step to turning the county circuit court master commissioner into a magistrate.  As IPR’s Stephanie Wiechmann reports, the move – which takes General Assembly approval – is supposed to improve the court’s efficiency.

One of the major differences between the two jobs is that a magistrate can make a final order to the court, like judges do.  A master commissioner can make a recommendation, but it needs to be reviewed and signed off by a judge, creating additional steps to an already busy court system.

Presiding Delaware County Judge Linda Ralu Wolf says the magistrate’s autonomy is important, as the county courts will see an increase in jury trials, after suspending them during local spikes in COVID-19 cases.

“Then the litigants don’t have to wait for the presiding judge to sign off on the order before they receive it.  So it would be much more efficient.”

Magistrates can also hear criminal cases.

Wolf says a magistrate is also a state employee, not a county one, so the state will pay a larger portion of the position’s salary, benefits, and retirement.

The county judges want six-year court master commissioner Timothy Hollems to become the magistrate, if the move is approved.

Delaware County’s circuit courts have an overfull caseload, according to a state report.  Judges wanted to add a sixth circuit court to the county system, but county officials told the General Assembly last year they wouldn’t pay their portion to support the court when it was created.  A legislative committee said it had never seen that happen before.

On the judges’ recommendation, the Delaware County Council has written a letter asking for the magistrate change.  That begins a multi-step process, which will ultimately require the change to be written into a bill to be considered by the General Assembly.