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06/16/08
Here's the background: it's been 10 years since New York's judges got a pay raise, the longest judges in any state have gone without a salary increase. In New York judges' pay is tied to legislators' pay. As in most states, the state legislature sets pay scales, and they tied the pay for judges to the pay for state legislators.
This was found unconstitutional by Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edward Lehner, holding that the linking of the legislature and judicial salaries was a violation of the separation of powers doctrine. Judge Lehner gave the state 90 days to cough up the extra dough.
The case is an oddity — four judges suing the governor, the state legislature, and the State of New York itself. In a separate action the chief justice of the state's supreme court has also filed a lawsuit over pay raises, likely to be granted.
If implemented, the decision will cost New York $148 million to give the roughly 1,300 state judges a pay raise.
While it appears that the judges did need a raise, it's not clear how they can justify arrogating to themselves the power to set their own pay.
The state bar has approved and supported the judicial action.
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