Posted on 01/01/2007 7:26:14 AM PST by indcons
Pay for federal judges is so inadequate that it threatens to undermine the judiciary's independence, Chief Justice John Roberts says in a year-end report critical of Congress.
Issuing an eight-page message devoted exclusively to salaries, Roberts says the 678 full-time U.S. District Court judges, the backbone of the federal judiciary, are paid about half that of deans and senior law professors at top schools.
In the 1950s, 65 percent of U.S. District Court judges came from the practicing bar and 35 percent came from the public sector. Today the situation is reversed, Roberts said, with 60 percent from the public sector and less than 40 percent from private practice.
Federal district court judges are paid $165,200 annually; appeals court judges make $175,100; associate justices of the Supreme Court earn $203,000; the chief justice gets $212,100.
Thirty-eight judges have left the federal bench in the past six years and 17 in the past two years.
The issue of pay, says Roberts, "has now reached the level of a constitutional crisis."
"Inadequate compensation directly threatens the viability of life tenure, and if tenure in office is made uncertain, the strength and independence judges need to uphold the rule of law - even when it is unpopular to do so - will be seriously eroded," Roberts wrote.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattlepi.nwsource.com ...
I didn't realize all federal district court judges and appeals court judges lived in or around DC. Roberts is talking about all federal judges. If Justice Roberts can't get by on $200,000 a year perhaps he needs to quit and find something else to do
But then again, the average plumber may earn more.
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I don't want some incompetant slob sitting on the bench making judgements. I want someone who is capable of making tons of money because they are good at what they do who is at least going to be compensated for their time.
My father invented GPS while working for the Naval Research Lab. Due to congressional caps on pay, he only received a total of a 5% pay increase between 1969 and 1976 (he was a GS 16). At various times, he had offers to triple his salary by moving to a job in the private sector. Maybe people like him deserve a pay increase more than judges.
Do you know the cost of an average size home in DC as compared to the rest of the country? Or say rental costs for a decent apartment?
Why break from tradition?
Well, since most federal courts don't sit in Jerkwater/East B.F. USA then you are talking about a metro area with a more expensive cost of living. But hey, maybe you are the kind of person who price shops everything and would rather go for the doctor who makes $25 an hour working on you or your kid rather than the one who makes $300.
Why am I not filled with hope for future wise rulings from the "Roberts Court"?
What's this guy gonna do when he meets up with a REAL constitutional crisis?
Such hyperbole from a man in his position is despicable, especially when you consider the subject matter.
Hey, "Your Honor," why don't the mutilation deaths of nearly 50 million defenseless unborn Americans, due primarily to the malfeasance of the body you head, amount to a "constitutional crisis"? Isn't the primary purpose of the Constitution to protect the lives, the liberty and the private property of the American people?
The more I mull over this story, the madder I get.
I've tried to reserve judgment, even though I've feared he was just another inside-the-beltway, insider, empty-suit pick. But if he keeps this crap up, he's going to make Harriet Meiers look serious in comparison.
DC real estate goes for $700 per Sq. ft last time I looked. Rental is about $2. That number comes down the further out you go.
So why didn't he move to the private sector ? It was his choice.
If he wanted the money he would go to where it is offered; clearly money was not what made him happy in his job so he stayed. Yes ?
If we are losing good minds from the bench due to issues of compensation then what are we left with? To me that is a very serious problem and since we are talking about the federal courts then that probably does involve constitutional issues.
Maybe we should draw them from somewhere else, then.
Maybe from somewhere where they know how to read plain English.
He is from Indiana..my home state.
I was shocked at the standard of living in DC myself when I visited. They need some funds to do some serious remodeling there. lol.
Those mere wages don't begin to cover a Judges remuniration..
As with ANY FEDERAL WORKER.. Being a federal worker is a license to steal..
The HealthCARE AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS(plus other perks) are Obscene..
Judges are not appointed to "run the country."
They are appointed to interpret the Constitution and the asinine laws that the legislative branch write. Nothing more...nothing less. They have been doing a p--- poor job of that. Why give them a raise for poor performance?
The problem isn't with minds. It's with hearts and core principles.
don't want some incompetant slob sitting on the bench making judgements. I want someone who is capable of making tons of money because they are good at what they do who is at least going to be compensated for their time.
Just because some ambulance chaser is capable of extorting big bucks doesn't mean he'd make a good judge.
Hah. They'd trash it in a month anyhow...
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