Has an increase in juvenile court filings changed the way juvenile court cases are heard?
This greater workload, joined with a legislative preference to defer additional judicial appointments and, presumably, depend more heavily on other judicial officers, has led to the significant growth in the number of nonjudge hearing officers in this court. These nonjudge hearing officers are called referees in Michigan, masters in Delaware, commissioners in Missouri, and magistrates in Colorado and hear certain types of cases or stages of proceedings on behalf of a judge. Usually, the chief judge of the court or the court’s full bench appoints them. Typically, they have limited authority and are prohibited by statute from conducting waiver hearings or jury trials in those limited number of juvenile courts that have authority to conduct a jury trial. Some courts prohibit them from conducting felony trials, hearings that may result in the commitment of a youth to the state, or terminations of parental rights. There are juvenile courts that prefer judges and do not allow the number of o
