April 10, 2007
NY's Top Judge Wants Justice On Raises
The top judge in New York State, Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye, has threatned to sue the state if judges don't get raises by the summer. And according to the NY Times, a proposal to give them raises seems to have been a victim of the last minute deal-making for the state budget - Governor Spitzer did include a retroactive pay raise for judges, but lawmakers proposed a raise for both judges AND legislators. Then both were "dropped during closed-door budget negotiations." Ya gotta love bureaucracy - especially when Governor Spitzer, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver say they are all for a judicial pay raise.
Kaye did lay into Albany lawmakers during her remarks: "For more than eight years, longer than any other judges in America -- likely longer than any workers in any field -- New York state judges, for no reason other than Albany politics, have been denied even a cost-of-living adjustment to their salaries." Kaye also said she would ask Attorney General Cuomo and State Comptroller DiNapoli about raising judges' pay without legislative permission.
NY judges make $136,700/year, which federal district court judges make $165,200/year. Kaye herself makes $156,000, and a raise would increase her pay to $181,720. The concern over an underpaid judiciary stems from a desire to make sure good judges could be recruited.
And many New Yorkers are familiar with Kaye, even if her name doesn't quite ring a bell: She's the one who speaks to prospective jurors during the video (and she's trying to make jury duty better for New Yorkers). Last year, she wrote the dissent when the Court of Appeals rejected gay marriage; Kaye wrote, "This State has a proud tradition of affording equal rights to all New Yorkers. Sadly, the Court today retreats from that proud tradition... I am confident that future generations will look back on today's decision as an unfortunate misstep."
Photograph of Chief Justice Kaye by Mike Groll/AP
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NY judges make $136,700/year, which federal district court judges make $165,200/year.
That's scary! 1st year associates make more than that! No wonder the benches here are so corrupt. They need supplimentary income!
Whatever JD. If you can be corrupted when you're making $136,000 you can be corrupted when you're making $165,200 or $250,000 or $5,000,000. If people are so desperate to live a certain lifestyle then they should go into a field that will pay them appropriately. Don't go into a field like public service and then demand more pay. Anyway, if you knew the workload most judges carry - or don't - you wouldn't be that sympathetic. Most people I know with government jobs make the tradeoff of lower pay for less hectic working hours. And some of them actually have a desire to do something worthwhile.
wow, i wish i made the salary they are complaining about... as does prob 95% of the rest of the city. I don't see much public simpathy bubbling up for this one.
Don't go into a field like public service and then demand more pay.
I don't see much public simpathy bubbling up for this one.
You guys don't get it huh? It's not just about the salary. It's about attracting the best to sit on the bench. Do you want some 3rd rate lawyer judging your case? Why do you think top companies have top compensations? Sure this may be public service but this isn't some DC37 pencil pusher.
They haven't gotten a cost-of-living increase in eight years, which is just ridiculous. Also, Tim, 95% of the city doesn't have the education level and experience these judges have. They have one of the most important jobs in the state.
Man...who cares? I just want to know if I can sue my employer for a raise. Who knew?
I like the idea of the judges trying to unionize. That would be nutty!
OK, simple. You aren't getting the love from your employer like you thought you would. What do you do? Sue? No, get the hell out of that job and go find you another. I work for a county government. If they decided they weren't going to give me a raise, you can bet that I'd be walking. Not sitting there saying how important I am and they'd better give me a raise or I'll sue.
Get over yourself Judge. Obviously your employer doesn't feel you are as important as you do.
Actually, the irony is that the "boss," the three men who head the legislature - Spitzer, Silver and Bruno - all support raises. But it's the crippling bureaucracy of Albany that's preventing anything from happening. There *is* a reason why NY State's legislature was called the most dysfunctional in the country.