The National Law Journal writes that judges, who have been pushing for years for pay raises, are now backing off, and begrudgingly accepting pay freezes in the shadow of the global economic meltdown.
After years of aggressively lobbying for raises in their salaries, chief justices and court administrators in five states are backing off as unprecedented budget cuts have forced judges to accept pay freezes.
Chief justices and court administrators in Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and Rhode Island, most of whom had sought jumps in salaries for state judges in the past, have accepted pay freezes in recent weeks as worsening economic problems unfold in their states.
In some cases, judges have spoken out against lobbying for pay increases during a major financial crisis. Judges in other states, such as Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, have resisted proposed freezes, although in varying degrees…
But many fear that freezing judicial pay, on top of dwindling raises, could reduce the competitiveness of the bench and negatively affect the quality of those who are retained or recruited to serve as judges.
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