The effort to reduce backlogs in New York City’s courts could be bolstered by filling eight interim judicial terms in the city’s Civil Court, the chair of City Council’s Committee on Courts and Legal Services says.

Even with applicants in the pipeline, however, a special counsel for Mayor Bill de Blasio said it’s hard to find qualified jurists who want to serve the one-year interim appointments with no assurance that they will continue to stay on the bench when the term is up.