The Hanging Shad Blog reports that CT’s Judicial Branch has 1,150 more employees than it did 10 years ago.
The Blog post does not link the report that it is citing. Its author goes on to speculate about various potential causes such as increased security and support staff for judges.
I’m not buying it.
Something about the report and it’s data seems wrong. Having spent considerable time in Connecticut’s courts over the past 6 years, the judicial branch must be hiding those employees. Having been in court both before, during and after, the Atlanta Courthouse shootings I have not noticed any change in the level of security staff at any Connecticut court.
In a January 2010, article, the CT Law Tribune reported that the Judicial Branch lost more than 400 employees through early retirement, a hiring freeze, and attrition. Since that article has run, there’s no way the Judicial Branch has gone on a hiring binge. In speaking with recent law grads even TAC positions are impossible to come by right now.
In 2008, the legislature enacted the foreclosure mediation program. This has resulted in positions for mediators. But in Hartford, this accounts for about 4 positions.
I encourage the Hanging Shad to publish whatever source it is using for its numbers. Even if there is a report that indicates such an increase, those numbers need to be more deeply explored and not taken at face value.
My guess is that there’s an explanation for those numbers that has to do more with how they’re calculated than a straight increase in employment.