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Judge orders state to give pay hike to judges
AP via SFGate ^ | 6/11/8 | SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer

Posted on 06/11/2008 11:43:47 AM PDT by SmithL

New York (AP) -- A judge has ordered New York's governor, Senate and Assembly to raise the pay of the state's judges within the next 90 days.

State Supreme Court Justice Edward Lehner in Manhattan said Wednesday that the defendants unconstitutionally abused their power by depriving judges of a pay hike for almost 10 years. He said state legislators illegally linked a judicial salary increase to one for themselves.

Lehner, who acknowledged he would be affected by his own decision, ordered the state to raise judicial pay to reflect cost of living increases since 1998.

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government; US: New York
KEYWORDS: activistjudges; conflictofinterest; fascism; govwatch; judiciary; roguejudges; tyrant
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To: SmithL

Now all he has to do is order the Governor to sign the bill.

Then we will have all three branches of government wrapped up in one black collar criminal.


41 posted on 06/11/2008 2:43:12 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Jimmy Carter is the skidmark in the panties of American History)
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To: jude24
Here's the problem. Starting first-year associates at the big law firms make double or triple what a judge makes now. What does that do to the profession when a kid fresh out of law school makes more than the person who decides his case?

Perhaps we should find all the people holding guns to these judges heads, forcing them to remain on the bench.

42 posted on 06/11/2008 3:00:55 PM PDT by zeugma (Mark Steyn For Global Dictator!)
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To: jude24
"who will be the judges?"

I have the solution......

Let FReepers be the judges!!! :^)

I'm sure there are plenty of us who would be willing to serve for the present salary levels, and we (most of us) would be a damned sight better than all the liberal socialist monstrosities who preside right now.
43 posted on 06/11/2008 3:17:08 PM PDT by Enchante (Barack Chamberlain: My 1930s Appeasement Policy Goes Well With My 1960s Socialist Policies!)
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To: All

On a more serious note (Maybe) this is a legislative issue.

It may well be that higher salaries would attract and keep better judges, but that is exactly the kind of public policy issue that legislatures exist to decide.


44 posted on 06/11/2008 3:21:26 PM PDT by Enchante (Barack Chamberlain: My 1930s Appeasement Policy Goes Well With My 1960s Socialist Policies!)
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To: jude24

Why do we need LAWYERS as judges. Seems to be a built-in bias right there. I have enough sense to make a good judge... and TOO MUCH good sense to become a lawyer.


45 posted on 06/11/2008 3:22:53 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: dcwusmc

its the new aristocracy in the united states, not nobility like in times of old, but lawyers, doctors and other professionals who have more rights given to them by government than the rest of ‘the masses’, we the people. imo


46 posted on 06/11/2008 4:23:29 PM PDT by traviskicks (http://www.neoperspectives.com/Ron_Paul_2008.htm)
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To: traviskicks

It’s hard to find fault with your post... the aristocracy of “pull”... lawyers got it and we don’t. I am so thinking how needful it’s getting to be to hit the Constitutional reset button... And NOW, before my sons and granddaughters have it to do.


47 posted on 06/11/2008 4:29:03 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: jude24

You said all you needed to say in your statement. Maybe if you don’t want to be so obvious you’ll need to work on less obvious ways to say things.


48 posted on 06/11/2008 6:34:28 PM PDT by Almondjoy
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To: SmithL

Never in my life in the United States have I heard of a suit by state judges against a state legislature asking for increased pay. It’s preposterous that any judge who would be enriched by a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs should be hearing and ruling on the case. There’s no more flagrant example of judicial conflict of interest than this!


49 posted on 06/11/2008 7:14:16 PM PDT by justiceseeker93
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To: SmithL
Do we have to ask what party this clown belongs to?
50 posted on 06/11/2008 7:16:44 PM PDT by kempo (c)
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To: devnull; never4get

If mama ain’t happy, ain’t NOBODY happy.


51 posted on 06/11/2008 8:06:57 PM PDT by an amused spectator (corruptissima republica, plurimae leges)
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To: Almondjoy
oh please. Reciting the issues luring someone away from the judiciary does not mean I'm only in things for the money. You don't know what I'm doing with my law degree.

Personally, I couldn't care less what you think of me. I know I'm serving my country with dignity and honor. So you know what? Go to hell.

52 posted on 06/12/2008 5:52:37 AM PDT by jude24 (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: jude24; Almondjoy; Enchante
For J24, according to today's (14 June) WSJ, NY governor Paterson's office said, "Only the state legislature has the power to set judicial salaries. The judge's decision flies in the face of the state Constitution."

Do you not agree that the judge usurped legislative powers and has a conflict of interest?

For Almondjoy, I too have been told by the esteemed counsel j24 to "go to hell". You see, j24 thinks "The Law" is best understood and delivered by our betters, ie like him. As far as he is concerned, "The Law" is above the comprehension of the proletariat.

For Enchante, Governor Paterson agrees with you.

53 posted on 06/14/2008 4:01:58 PM PDT by Jacquerie ('Tis a pity that judicial tyrants do not fear for their personal safety.)
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To: Jacquerie

I know.. lawyers tend to think they are better than everyone else because you know.. if it weren’t for lawyers then we wouldn’t have law... or something like that.

It would be interesting to see on what basis the judge said not giving a raise for 10 years was unconstitutional. Sir Judge? Does that extend to all jobs? Salaries below a certain amount are unconstitutional? Maybe we should just set everyone’s salary to 1 million. It would be interesting if Congress came back and said here is your raise we’ll give you 1 more dollar.


54 posted on 06/14/2008 4:46:24 PM PDT by Almondjoy
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To: dcwusmc

Perhaps what you meant to say is too much morality to become a lawyer.


55 posted on 06/14/2008 4:48:14 PM PDT by Almondjoy
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To: Almondjoy

Yes, that would also fit in there.


56 posted on 06/14/2008 6:26:32 PM PDT by dcwusmc (We need to make government so small that it can be drowned in a bathtub.)
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To: Jacquerie
You see, j24 thinks "The Law" is best understood and delivered by our betters, ie like him.

Not quite. Would you listen to medical diagnoses by someone with no medical training? How about structural analysis by non-engineers? Stock advice by someone who doesn't know business? Why is the law so different, that the uneducated's opinions trump that of those who have studied it in depth? All too often, people knee-jerk reactions against a legal conclusion without examining the opinion that formed the basis behind it.

57 posted on 06/14/2008 7:04:24 PM PDT by jude24 (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: jude24

Ok genius.. cite the NY consitution that allows for a judge to tell the state who and what to pay people?


58 posted on 06/15/2008 5:18:15 PM PDT by Almondjoy
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To: Almondjoy
The judge argued that the Legislatures' refusal to compensate judges for the erosion of their pay due to inflation is a violation of the Constitutional guarantee of a competent and independent judiciary.

It's a tenuous argument, but not an unprecedented one (Goodheart v. Case, 521 Pa. 316 (1989), aff'd 523 Pa. 188 (1989).)

It is poor argumentation to criticize a position before you have researched the opposing side.

59 posted on 06/15/2008 5:34:09 PM PDT by jude24 (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: Almondjoy
Also, do note: the judge refused to award damages. He just declared the current situation unconstitutional because it compromised the independence of the judiciary, and asked the Legislature to voluntarily craft a remedy.
60 posted on 06/15/2008 5:38:40 PM PDT by jude24 (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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