EDINBURG - Hidalgo County judges are pushing for more courts to ease the burden of cases.

Texas’ Office of Court Administration determined that Hidalgo County needs two more district and county courts so each can operate in an efficient and timely manner.

Judge Rudy Gonzalez said the courts in the county are overburdened. He said his court usually has more than 70 cases on a docket each day. But when a case goes to trial, he said it can create more issues.

“There’s the backlog, not because we don’t want to move forward in particular cases, but because of the logistics of the case,” he said. “If somebody wants to go to trial, we need to pick a jury, present evidence, hear the evidence and decide and usually that will take two to three days minimum.”

Hidalgo County currently has 12 district courts and seven courts at law.

Gonzalez said he expects state legislation for at least one more court at law to be passed.