House Bill 4833 seeks to preserve the third judgeship on the 48th District Court bench (Oakland County). Representative Steele introduced the bill and Chief Judge Diane D'Agostino testified at length about caseload increases and changes to court responsibilities since a 2011 judicial-reduction plan.

Judge D'Agostino said the court’s civil docket increased sharply after no-fault auto reforms and other legislative changes. She gave data to the committee showing large percentage increases: the civil caseload rose by 58% in 2024 compared with 2023, and the court’s total filings are projected to close at roughly 32,500–32,800 cases in 2025. She told the committee the court now handles expanded duties, including a certified hybrid DWI drug treatment court, increased search-warrant workload tied to digital-evidence investigations, and new set-aside (clean slate) hearings that expanded since 2021. Those developments, she said, were not anticipated in the 2011 judicial-reduction analysis.

Judge D'Agostino told members SCALE (the court administrative body) had placed the court under secondary review because of the expanding civil docket; she asked the committee to consider the functional impacts of the caseload and the types of proceedings that take more judge time than routine traffic or civil-infraction handling. Committee members asked questions about the SCALE review, per-judge caseload (approximately 11,000 relevant substantive cases per judge under current projections), and whether a preserved third seat would require new state funding (judge replacement rather than new judgeship was emphasized). The committee accepted testimony; HB4833 supporters requested the committee consider the court’s changed workload and SCALE’s secondary review results when evaluating the retention of the judgeship.