Even without the pandemic, a generationalflip was under way.
That has led to calls to raise theretirement age from 70 to 75, to relieve the pressure.
But Mr McGoughran says more than 50% ofthose leaving are retiring early, “which says to me they are not enjoyingjudging”.
Those judges who remain are burnt out.
“It is a cascading problem,” says DanielleHirsch of the National Centre for State Courts (NCSC).
New Jersey is not the only state that isfeeling the pinch.
Maine also has a shortage.
Maine’s chief justice recently said thatshe met a judge who was discouraged “because she cannot make headway regardlessof how many cases she jams into dockets or how late she works.”
Poor pay plays a role in recruitment andretention: Maine’s judges are among the lowest-paid in the country.
The state also has a shortage of courtstaff.
Clerks work nights and weekends to catchup.
Amy Quinlan, Maine’s court administrator,says the pandemic revealed that courts were struggling; it is now abundantlyclear that more help is needed.
Other states are also suffering from staffshortages.
The gaps include court reporters,interpreters, attorneys, clerks and police.
The NCSC found that 14 state chief justicesraised staff shortages and the need for pay raises to recruit and retain talentas the most pressing issues facing state courts.
Courts in Louisiana, Missouri and NorthDakota have had to close or reduce hours.
The turnover rate for court staff inFlorida has more than doubled since the 2020-21 financial year.
In New York, the acting chief judge saidduring his state-of-the-judiciary message this year that “staffing shortagesslow down our dockets and burden our already-strained workforce.”
These troubles are causing cases to remainon hold for long periods.
A backlog in criminal cases will make ithard for states to meet their constitutional obligations.
The Sixth Amendment requires that theaccused “shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”.
Lately, there is nothing speedy abouttrials.
即使没有疫情，代际转换也在进行中。
这导致人们呼吁将退休年龄从70岁提高到75岁，以缓解压力。
但麦古夫兰先生表示，超过50%的离职员工会提前退休，“这在我看来，他们并不喜欢审判别人”。
那些留下来的法官已经筋疲力尽了。
“这是一个连锁问题，”国家法院中心的丹尼尔·赫希说。
新泽西州并不是唯一一个感到人手拮据的州。
缅因州也出现了法官短缺。
缅因州的首席大法官最近说，她遇到了一位灰心丧气的法官，“因为无论她把多少案件塞到案宗里，或者工作到多晚，她都无法取得进展。”
低薪在难以招聘和留住法官方面发挥了不小的作用：缅因州是全国法官薪酬最低的州之一。
该州也缺少法院工作人员。
职员们晚上和周末都需要加班以赶上进度。
缅因州法院行政官艾米·昆兰表示，疫情揭露了法院举步维艰的状况; 很明显，该州现在需要更多的帮助。
其他州也面临着员工短缺的问题。
空缺人员包括法庭记录员、口译员、律师、书记员和警察。
国家法院中心发现，14名州首席大法官曾提出，州法院面临的最紧迫问题是员工短缺以及加薪招聘并留住人才。
路易斯安那州、密苏里州和北达科他州的法院不得不关闭或缩短工作时间。
自2020-21财政年度以来，佛罗里达州法院工作人员的离职率增加了一倍多。
在纽约，代理首席法官在他今年的司法状况咨文中说，“人员短缺减缓了我们的诉讼进度，加重了我们本已紧张的工作人员的负担。”
这些麻烦导致案件长时间被搁置。
积压的刑事案件将使各州难以履行其宪法义务。
第六修正案规定被告“应享有迅速和公开审判的权利”。
然而最近的审判没有迅速的。
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