Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, like other governors before him, has taken great pleasure in appointing judges to preside over Connecticut's courts.

Since 2011, Malloy has nominated 87 people to serve on the bench, according to figures provided by the Judicial Branch. He has steadily added women, African-American and Latino judges to the courts, speaking, with each announcement of new appointments, of the importance of having a qualified and diverse bench.

The governor has not slowed down in his final year in office. This past week, Malloy nominated 16 new Superior Court judges and named three sitting judges to fill vacancies on the Appellate and Supreme Courts. He said during a news conference on Thursday that there are more nominations to come.

Lawmakers generally have honored Malloy's requests to seat new judges, with the glaring exception of his recent nomination of Justice Andrew McDonald as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Some who opposed McDonald have signaled they are more likely to support Malloy's second nominee, Justice Richard A. Robinson, for chief justice.

When it comes to conferring black robes upon the 16 newcomers named by Malloy, some say the lawmakers' debate could center on whether cash-strapped Connecticut can afford — or even needs — new judges.  

State Rep. Doug Dubitsky, R-Chaplin, a member of the Judiciary Committee that will hold confirmation hearings for the nominees before they are considered by the full House and Senate, said he understands Malloy is trying to fill vacancies and leave a legacy before the end of his term. But Dubitsky said he's hearing some members of the General Assembly are averse to filling judgeships if the Judicial Branch does not have the funding to employ support staff for them.

"What are judges going to do if they don't have stenographers, clerks and staff?" Dubitsky said in a phone interview from Hartford. "There are times when judges are there and they can't hold court because they don't have staff. I'm not sure where the balance is, but I know there are lot of people in the legislature who are not prepared to confirm any new judges because of the lack of funding for the Judicial Branch."

Superior Court Judges have a base salary of more than $167,000 a year plus benefits, and can collect a pension of approximately two-thirds of their salary after 10 years of service.

The crime rate in Connecticut is declining, according to data compiled by the FBI, and statistics published by the Judicial Branch indicate reductions in criminal, civil and family cases. The branch itself has absorbed significant budget cuts over the past three years and currently has 710 fewer people to serve as support staff for new judges.

State law authorizes the appointment of 201 judges and justices to the Superior, Appellate and Supreme courts. According to the Judicial Branch, 158 judges were seated as of March 21. The law authorizes 185 Superior Court judges, and 144 are seated. The figures do not include about 26 judges age 60 or older who have elected to take senior status. The status enables the judges to retire and collect their pension and to earn a per diem rate for days they work. The senior judges are not allowed to collect or earn more than what full-time judges are paid.

The figures also do not include 82 state judge trial referees, who are judges who have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 and continue to work on a per diem basis. According to the Judicial Branch, 119 senior judges and state referees worked a total of 14,006 days between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017.

The caseloads for sitting judges in civil, criminal and family cases have decreased in recent years, according to figures provided by the Judicial Branch. At the same time, Malloy has touted the reduction in Connecticut's crime rate and the closure of state prisons under his Second Chance Society initiative.

"I'm not sure who determines whether these positions are essential or not," said state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton. "That's the question. We've seen a decrease in the prison system. We've seen our crime rates go down. Is there still a need for these judges as thought? Are these essential positions, especially in the financial climate we have in Connecticut?"

Judicial appointments are political, and Malloy, like other governors, has rewarded loyal supporters with appointments to the bench. Somers noted one of Malloy's nominees this past week was James Spallone of Essex, a former Democratic state representative currently serving as the chief lawyer for House Democrats.

"Is this just the governor's parting gift?" Somers said. "I don't know."

It's unclear how rank-and-file staffers would feel about the new infusion of well-compensated judges during what have become leaner times for many civil servants. Under the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) agreement that went into effect on Oct. 2, 2017, state employees are paying more for health care and retirement benefits and are required to take three unpaid furlough days.

The reductions and other factors resulted in a surge of retirements. According to figures provided by the Judicial Branch, 3,972 people were working for the branch as of January 2018, a reduction of 710 from the 4,682 employed in January 2015. In 2017, the branch saw 243 employees retire; that's compared to 150 the previous year. The numbers of retirements have climbed steadily since 2012, when 70 people retired.

Joe Gaetano, president of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 731, said the addition of new judges would further strain judicial marshals, whose ranks have shrunk by 200 people, to about 600 marshals, due to budget cuts and retirements. There are 37 new hires currently in training, but Gaetano said that would not help fill the gap, since people are retiring or leaving daily. He said it is unclear whether the Judicial Branch budget will enable a second class of new hires.

Adding new judges, Gaetano said, is like putting the cart before the horse. "There's short staff in every court and it's a very dangerous situation," he said.

Carmen Roda, a probation officer who serves as president of the Judicial Professional Employees Union, said that probation officers are one of the most important prongs of Malloy's Second Chance Society program to reduce incarceration and provide more community supervision and rehabilitative programs for offenders. Budget cuts and attrition have thinned the ranks, though, and as of January 2018, Roda said there are 362 probation officers compared to 446 in 2015. He estimated between 39,000 and 40,000 people are on probation in Connecticut.

"We believe as probation officers, our mission is to get offenders in the community to go from law breaking to law abiding," Roda said. "With that many people down, we are going to lose that type of quality interaction. If you're going to appoint judges, great. We have to keep the system moving. But you need the people to support the offenders that are in the community."

k.florin@theday.com