New York Top Judge May Sue Over Pay
Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of New York says the state judiciary may sue “as a last resort” if the legislature doesn’t give judges a pay increase by the time it adjourns in June.
Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye of New York says the state judiciary may sue “as a last resort” if the legislature doesn’t give judges a pay increase by the time it adjourns in June.
Kaye, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, said in a news conference Monday that the judiciary will not remain “docile in the face of the shabby treatment,” the New York Law Journal reports.
“The giant flaw in the so-called system we currently have for determining judicial compensation is that the judiciary has no seat at the bargaining table and nothing to give, nothing to barter in the budget negotiation, nothing but the merit of our cause,” Kaye said. “As we’ve learned, that’s just not sufficient capital in our Capitol.”
However, Kaye said she does not agree with calls by some judges for work stoppages or slowdowns. She suggests establishing a commission to set judges’ pay and using federal judicial salaries as a guide.
