Linn County's state courts are ranked No. 1 among Oregon circuit courts in need of additional judges to meet workload demands, a new state assessment shows.

The assessment reveals a nearly 10 percent increase in Linn County trial court judges' workloads from 2005 to 2007.

"Our workload has expanded," agreed the Linn County presiding judge, Rick McCormick. "Especially in the juvenile department. These are important cases."

He said the hearings referee allotted to Linn County courts three years ago has helped, but one more judge would get the ratio of judges to workload close to where it should be.

"One more will be plenty," he said. "I think we'll get along fine. We are pretty much on the mark."

The Joint Committee on Trial Court Judicial Resources produced the rankings.

Committee members are appointed by the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and the Oregon State Bar. The committee makes judgeship recommendations to the Oregon Legislature.

McCormick said he responded to the committee on April 10, asking for just one additional judge, though the study predicts the Linn courts will need 1.75 judges. Responses from presiding judges were due May 1.

He also said that this item will not come before the legislature until its regular session next year, and that if it approves the additional judge position, that person would not start until the January or July after that.

"Probably, we are looking at early 2010 before anything would really happen," he said.

The current Linn County circuit court roster includes five judges and one hearings referee.

Ranked second in terms of need is District 24, which includes Grant and Harney counties. District 1, Jackson County, is ranked third.

The study found Benton County judges are coming close to meeting the exact workload needs of the county, showing it has a .10 anticipated surplus of judicial resources, or one-tenth of a full time judge position more than its anticipated need.

The committee will begin reviewing requests for judges during its first meeting May 17.