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Some methamphetamine trials may be shifted to district courts to ease a growing logjam in the High Court.
The Government is considering a request from High Court judges to be given discretion to defer less serious cases to their district court colleagues.
The High Court's caseload has leapt since 2003 when methamphetamine was reclassified as a Class A drug, raising concerns about access to justice, particularly for those awaiting jury trials.
Ministry of Justice figures show 440 criminal jury trials were filed in the High Court in 2005/06, more than 100 higher than in 2004/05.
The backlog of cases rose from 136 in June 2005 to 250 by the end of January 2006. Over half the outstanding trials were P (high grade methamphetamine) cases, although lawyers say complex leaky home disputes are adding to the problem in Auckland.
There is frustration in legal circles that hugely expensive jury trials, once under way, are taking longer to complete. In drug cases, police often need to establish a pattern of behaviour through months of surveillance - and it can take weeks to explain that pattern in court.
Wellington defence lawyer Robert Lithgow says P cases are costing the country tens of millions of dollars a year and clogging up court rooms and resources.
Parliament and the Court of Appeal had made sentences for P offending extremely harsh, although users typically were "people we know," he told National Radio this week. "Students are buying it, tens of thousands are using it."
Auckland District Law Society president Andrew Gilchrist said it was increasingly hard to get before a High Court judge.
In leaky home disputes, dates pencilled in for a hearing held up other cases even if an out-of-court settlement was eventually reached.
Courts Minister Rick Barker said the Government was considering the implications of allowing some cases to be dealt with at district court level.
But Weekend Herald inquiries show overstretched district courts, particularly in Auckland, are not well-placed to cope with extra work. They had a backlog of 1430 jury trials awaiting a hearing at the end of 2005/06, up from 1290 the previous year.
