Pay Judges What They’re Worth
It used to be a significant source of pride and respect to be named a judge. Judges were highly respected and were involved in the resolution of disputed cases. A person might start out as a commissioner or Municipal Court judge, be appointed to the Superior Court, and then to the Court of Appeals. A fortunate few would be appointed to the state Supreme Court when an opening arose. There was a time that most judges would sit on the bench for their entire career.
Unfortunately, however, the prestige that comes with being a judge often comes at the expense of turning down much more lucrative salaries as practicing attorneys in the private sector. And judges who have served on the bench for a length of time and enjoy their role in resolving disputes do not want to work full-time, but they don’t want to leave the bench for good.
The Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court earns an annual salary of $217,400. The eight Associate Justices make $208,100 a year. In California, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court earns $228,856 annually, while the six Associate Justices make $218,237. A California Superior Court judge is paid $178,789 a year, while appellate court justices make $204,599 annually.
In the last couple of decades, many of our best and brightest judges have left the bench and become mediators and arbitrators for people who want to avoid the hassles and delays of the traditional legal justice system. Arbitration and mediation are known as Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) and do not adhere strictly to the procedures applicable to the procedures of the formal justice system. In mediation, the retired judge helps the opposing parties to try and reach an agreement that both can live with. In what is known as “binding arbitration,” the retired judge serving as the arbitrator makes a decision that is binding on the parties and cannot be challenged in a court of law except on very limited grounds. The idea behind ADR is making the legal system more accessible to the general public and resolve disputes in a more timely and less costly manner than the traditional court system.
A primary factor in so many judges leaving the bench to go to work for ADR firms or as independent arbitrators and mediators is that ADR judges can earn $500 or more an hour as a private mediator or arbitrator, and often the work is not as arduous as that they experienced sitting on the bench. It is very attractive to a judge sitting on the bench that he or she can make two or three times the amount of money by acting as a mediator or arbitrator without having to work as hard.
The Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the United States Supreme Court and individual states, as well as intermediate appellate court judges, both on the federal and state levels, deserve to be paid a salary commensurate with what they could be making if they were in private practice. Likewise, judges sitting on the Superior Court bench should be paid what a reasonable lawyer in private practice makes. A judge should not be forced to use his or her judicial position as a stepping stone to a higher payday with a private firm after a couple of years of serving on the court. Rather, judges should be paid fairly to encourage them to stay in the “official” judicial system, where they can dispense justice without having to worry about the bottom line or making their mortgage payments.
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