Pay panel hears proposal to raise judges' salaries
State Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks has proposed to raise state Supreme Court judges salaries from the current $174,000 a year to around $200,000. Credit: iStock
Raising the benchmark salary New York judges to $203,100 was roundly supported by judges, private attorneys and legal advocates at Monday's first hearing of the Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation.
The commission is expected to recommend by Dec. 31 that judges' salaries be increased beginning with the 2016-17 fiscal year. That raise is expected to support subsequent recommendations by the commission for raises to state legislators, the governor, comptroller and attorney general.
State Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks made that proposal to raise state Supreme Court judges from their current salary of $174,000 a year to $203,100. That benchmark for state Supreme Court justices in each county would trigger proportional raises for other judges.
The proposal was strongly supported by organizations of state and city judges as well as the Legal Aid Society and most advocacy groups at the four-hour hearing in Manhattan.
"We have traditionally been in the bottom few states of judicial salary," said state Supreme Court Judge William J. Condon of Suffolk County. "We currently are 47th." He said bringing salaries to $203,100 "would only move us to 33rd. So we are not trying to break the bank," said Condon, president-elect of the state Association of Justices of the Supreme Court.
In Albany, governors and legislative leaders have usually tied judicial raises -- popular in polls -- to raising their own salaries, which has been a politically dicey move for decades.
The commission was created on April 1 after 2 a.m. as the Legislature adopted a late budget. It was authorized to recommend raises that would become final without needing a legislative vote or the signature of the governor.
The commission is considering the pay raises as the corruption trial of former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) continues. In addition, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) was convicted of federal corruption charges yesterday.
"Certainly discussion of pay increases for judges creates an environment that is as positive as it can be for the Legislature," said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "But if there is no reform coupled with it, I don't see how they can justify it."
The commission is scheduled to recommend raises after the legislative elections in November 2016, which will automatically be approved for Jan. 1, 2017.
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