Washington – During a rare appearance on Capitol Hill, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pleaded Wednesday with senators to hike federal judges’ salaries or risk discouraging brilliant lawyers from donning black robes and sitting on the bench.
Federal trial judges currently earn $165,200 annually, but that pales in comparison to what they can make in the private sector.
“Our law clerks leave, and they’re paid … more than our salary,” said Kennedy. “No one says a judge should get as much as a partner in a New York law firm, but there are benchmarks.”
Kennedy added that “urgent action” is needed because good federal judges are leaving the courtrooms to teach and enter private practice – and promising young lawyers are not replacing them.
Judicial pay has been a pet peeve of Supreme Court justices for years. Kennedy’s pleas echoed those of Chief Justice John Roberts, who used his annual report Jan. 1 to complain that stagnant salaries are causing a “constitutional crisis that threatens to undermine the strength and independence of the federal judiciary.”
The last big boost to judges’ salaries came almost two decades ago. In the meantime, Congress has given modest cost-of-living increases almost every year.
Federal district judges take home $165,200, and appellate judges get $175,100 annually. The eight associate justices on the Supreme Court each earn $203,000 a year, and as chief justice, Roberts makes $212,100.
In early January, the Senate took its first step toward boosting judges’ salaries when it unanimously approved legislation that would give them a 1.7 percent increase. The House has not yet voted on the measure.
Not everyone is as enthusiastic about giving judges a pay raise.
Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., noted that every day, lawyers eschew higher salaries at private firms to become public defenders and prosecutors.
