Police have made nearly 575 arrests since August during clashes at the protesters' main camp along the pipeline route in southern North Dakota and at protests in and around the state capital, Bismarck, about 50 miles to the north. That's far more arrests than these areas typically deal with and it could lead to delays in bringing cases to trial, experts say.
"We don't have sufficient judges to get all of those cases heard in a timely fashion," said Sally Holewa, North Dakota's state court administrator.
The state judicial system will ask the Legislature next year for an additional $1.5 million to cover protest-related costs. That amounts to about 1 ½ percent of its current two-year budget.
"This is a first," Holewa said. "The judicial branch has never had to ask for a deficiency appropriation in its history," which dates back more than a century.
