New York judges haven't seen a pay rise in 12 years

Here is a very interesting piece from NPR about pay levels for New York state judges. Remuneration for the New York bench has remained static for the past 12 years, with the maximum available pay sitting at around $150,000 a year. That figure represents less than the earnings of some recent graduates, and is just a fraction of the earnings of the lawyers appearing before those judges in court. John Leventhal, an appellate court judge, says that the issue of pay is leading many to leave the bench for better paying jobs in private practice, which adversely affects the health of the justice system. “Do we really want a judiciary made up of only of those who are too rich to care about just, fair and equitable compensation and those who are not able to make a living practicing law? Of course, we can replace judges but we cannot substitute the years of judicial experience”, he said.

New York judges haven't seen a pay rise in 12 years npr.org Thu, Aug 4, 2011