The Mercer County Bar Association voted in support of a proposal for a fourth county judge during a private meeting Monday.

The bar's six-person judiciary committee said there was a need for a fourth judge and that the bar association as a whole should "support the effort to secure a fourth judge, without reservation or qualification," the bar association said in a news release issued Tuesday.

That recommendation was approved by county lawyers, the release said.

John C. Reed, president of the bar, would not say how many members voted for or against the recommendation. The bar association's endorsement was not required for the county to obtain a fourth judgeship, he added.

President Judge Francis J. Fornelli first made a public push for a fourth judge about two months ago, saying data he had gathered since last fall clearly indicated there was a need.

Fornelli said the data included ratios like judges per population and various cases handled per judge. The data also showed that Mercer County is the state's only fifth-class county -- or one with a population of between 95,000 and 150,000 -- that has not added a judge in the past two decades, Fornelli added.

Fornelli said Mercer County has more case filings per judge than any of the state's nine fifth-class counties. Between 2000 and 2001, criminal cases alone increased nearly 11 percent.

While no county officials or members of the bar have spoken out publicly against the proposal to date, there has been debate -- some of it heated -- behind the scenes.

The fourth judge proposal requires courthouse renovation plans to be altered and offices to be moved, as well as approval from the state Legislature.

A timetable for approval from the Legislature is uncertain. The proposal would have to be rolled into a bill including all counties across the state that are seeking new judgeships and then pass both the House and Senate and get the governor's approval. The state pays common pleas' judges' six-figure salaries and provides a $70,000-a-year stipend to offset judicial office costs.

State Sen. Bob Robbins is spearheading the legislative effort in Harrisburg.