An Austin-area judge has recently launched a new method to track how busy judges are in the nearly 20 county-funded civil and criminal courts.

The Austin American-Statesman reports that taxpayers spend about $1.5 billion per year on Travis County's justice system, including costs of jail operations, law enforcement and the courts.

The data tracking comes as some in the county's criminal justice community question judges' caseload and workday schedules, suggesting some don't earn their keep.

Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt says the tracking is about transparency and fiscal responsibility.

Eckhardt and county staff have started tracking data the past few months that include the total number of cases and how they're resolved by each court.

Some judges say Eckhardt's statistics won't provide an accurate depiction of their workload.