Overpaid judges

A USA Today article titled "Pay gap dismays federal judges" says,

Salaries of federal judges lag far behind those of private attorneys and law school deans, contributing to their departure from the bench in unprecedented numbers.

Since 2005, 22 of 875 federal judges serving lifetime appointments have resigned or retired — more than at any time in history, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Most earned higher salaries after leaving the bench. Of the 19 who have taken jobs, 14 went into private practice and five into education or government.

Something is very fishy about those numbers. If the number who have taken other jobs, 19, is subtracted from the number who have resigned or retired, 22, that leaves only three judges who have retired since 2005 out of a total of 875 judges. That number three is awfully low.

A sidebar of the article says,

Statistics collected by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts show:

• Salaries of deans at the top 25 law schools reach $430,000. Senior law professors earn about $330,000. The median salary of all law school deans in 2005 was $229,600.

• New law school graduates start at $160,000 in big-city firms.

The problem is not that federal judges are underpaid -- the problem is that other legal professionals are overpaid.

Also, a caption on a photo in the article says,

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer says Ohio judges haven't had an increase in pay for seven years.

However, the caption does not note that Ohio judges have been getting cost-of-living increases. Another article says,

In Ohio, judges receive regular cost-of-living increases.

This other article also said,

Pennsylvania judges went a decade without any raise in base pay, according to Stuart Ditzen, a spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. In July 2005, the Legislature raised salaries for lawmakers, judges and other state officials — during a 2 a.m. vote that enraged voters and led to the defeat of at least six legislative leaders that November. Voters also ousted Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro — the first time in state history, Ditzen says, that a high-court justice was voted off the bench.

After the election, the Legislature repealed the pay raise for everyone. In September 2006, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court upheld the pay raise for more than 1,000 state judges, Ditzen says. The court's decision further fueled a citizens' revolt. The activist group that helped defeat Nigro — called PA Clean Sweep — is now campaigning to persuade voters to defeat 66 of the 67 judges on the November ballot. One judge who returned her pay increase to the state treasury has been spared the organization's wrath, says the group's founder, Russ Diamond.

I am sure glad to see a public backlash against sleazebag judges. Let them quit -- we couldn't possibly have worse judges than we have now.
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