By MIKE CORN

mcorn@dailynews.net

There simply will be a little less justice in northwest Kansas if legislators embrace a series of recommendations brought forward after a year-long review of the state's judicial system.

So far, little -- other than a first weighted study of the case load facing Kansas courts and recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission -- has been presented to the Kansas Legislature. Together, the two reports fill nearly 400 pages.

The commission's report, however, contains a host of suggestions, including one urging legislators to do away with the requirement for a judge in every Kansas county. That's been presented to the Legislature before and has failed to pass.

But this year, the new studies take a closer look at the demands on individual courts, using a reporting system from both judges and court clerk personnel.

The weighted survey by the National Center for State Courts found Kansas is spot-on in terms of the total number of judges it has.

But they're not where they should be.

In northwest Kansas, only the 23rd Judicial District, covering Ellis, Gove, Rooks and Trego counties, has the number of judges it needs.

The study, however, found Ellis County should have an additional three -- four if they restore an administrative assistant's position -- in the court clerk's office.

That mirrors what Court Administrator Phil Fielder has been telling Chief Judge Ed Bouker, that given the number of cases handled, the court clerk's office in Ellis County should be expanded.

"This confirms what he's been telling me," said Bouker, a member of the judicial needs committee giving insight into the case-weighting study.

Trego County Magistrate Judge Richard Flax, WaKeeney, attorney Calvin Williams, Colby, and Donna Elliott, clerk of the district court in Graham County, served on the Blue Ribbon Committee.

Other counties in the 23rd Judicial District weren't quite as balanced, with the exception of Rooks County.

Gove County is a half-person short, while Trego County has a half-person surplus. Rooks County is right where it should be, even with just two people.

But it's in the 15th and 17th judicial districts where the need for judges takes it on the chin.

The 15th, a seven-county district, the weighted study suggests, has twice as many judges as it needs. That district covers Cheyenne, Rawlins, Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan, Wallace and Logan counties.

There are eight judges in the district, six of them magistrate judges.

The 17th District, according to the study, has four more than the three it needs, even though it covers six counties and has only one district judge.

The remaining six judges are magistrates, which are limited on the types of cases they can hear.

One of the recommendations suggested by the blue ribbon group is to require magistrates to be lawyers, something not required now. The group also suggests allowing magistrates to hear a broader range of cases as well.

In the 23rd district, magistrate judges in outlying counties are in Hays weekly to hear some of the less serious cases or to conduct some early hearings.

"It's good for us," Bouker said, and it gives them a broad mix of cases. "It keeps them sharp.

"It tells us we're using the magistrates as we should."

On the flip side of the weighting study, places such as Wichita supposedly need an additional eight judges and more than 20 court clerk personnel. Johnson County should have seven additional judges.

Not everyone in the judicial system agrees with the findings of the weighted study, fearful courts in rural areas might not get a fair shake because some of the more time-consuming cases weren't scheduled during the two reporting periods in early 2011.

They aren't, however, ready to speak publicly about their concerns.