Hartford - Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration plans to go to the Connecticut Supreme Court to fight a judge's ruling in favor of the state police union, which is trying to get officials to adhere to a minimum state trooper staffing level set in a 1998 state law, according to the governor's general counsel.

The union is suing Malloy, the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection and the agency's commissioner, saying the law requires a minimum of 1,248 troopers but the state currently only has 1,080. Union President Andrew Matthews says troopers are worried that inadequate staffing is causing long response times in some areas and putting the safety of the public and troopers at risk.

Hartford Superior Court Judge James T. Graham on Friday rejected a motion by the state to dismiss the lawsuit. The attorney general's office had argued that the minimum staffing number in the 1998 law was a goal, not a requirement, and that any mandatory staffing level would conflict with the governor's budget powers.

Malloy's general counsel, Andrew McDonald, said Tuesday that the attorney general's office will appeal Graham's ruling to the state Appellate Court by Feb. 2 and ask that the appeal be transferred immediately to the Supreme Court.

"We believe the legislative history supports our position that this statute was an aspirational goal of the legislature, not a minimum threshold," McDonald said.

McDonald added that the legislature has approved enough funding for state police to meet the minimum staffing level only three times since the law was passed in 1998, and that lawmakers' failure to set aside enough money essentially confirms that they believe the minimum staffing figure is not a strict requirement.

"The legislature says it's 1,248, but they don't supply funding for that level of positions," McDonald said. "How is the commissioner supposed to meet that requirement?"

The 1998 law approved by the legislature and then-Gov. John G. Rowland was spurred mostly by the killing of Heather Messenger in her Chaplin home earlier that year and how long it took state police to respond. The nearest trooper was 18 minutes away when she called 911 shortly before she was bludgeoned to death. Her husband, David Messenger, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state psychiatric hospital.

The wording of the law says the public safety commissioner "shall appoint and maintain" a minimum of 1,248 state troopers. Graham and the state police union say it's clear that the law requires the state to have that many troopers.

The union filed its lawsuit last August to try to stop Malloy from laying off 56 state troopers as part of his package of cuts aimed at balancing the state budget. Graham blocked the union's effort to stop the layoffs, but all the troopers were rehired in October because of budget savings created by retirements.

The union later amended its lawsuit to get the state to adhere to the minimum staffing law.

Matthews, the police union president, said there is still concern among troopers that staffing levels are too low, especially in the wide swaths of rural areas in the state covered by troopers.

He said there are 800 troopers assigned to patrol 81 towns, covering more than 600 square miles and with roughly 600,000 residents. That represents a ratio of less than one trooper per 1,000 residents, when the Department of Justice recommends a ratio of one to four officers per 1,000 residents, he said.

Matthews said the Malloy administration is sending the wrong message to the public and troopers with its planned appeal of Graham's ruling.

"It seems like you're opposed to maintaining the proper staffing levels to protect the public's safety and troopers' safety," he said. "I think the better way to resolve it is to sit down and do a proper study and work with the union and figure out what the best staffing level is."

Reuben Bradford, the commissioner of the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said in October that he has commissioned a study to determine exactly how many people are needed in the state police.

McDonald said state law doesn't address staffing levels for any other state employees. Staffing levels for correctional officers and parole officers, for example, are mandated by labor contracts.