Two Senators Target Judges' Junkets, Tie Pay Raise to Stricter Rules
Two senators are trying to rein in federal judges’ controversial participation in all-expenses-paid educational junkets sponsored by big corporations, tying a hefty proposed judicial pay increase to stricter rules limiting freebies that the jurists can accept.
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., are circulating a draft amendment to the Federal Judicial Salary Restoration Act, which is currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee and would provide a pay raise for federal judges, reports the Daily Journal (sub. req.). The article is posted by Howard Bashman in connection with his How Appealing blog.
The amendment would ban federal judges from attending “a program, a significant purpose of which is the education of United States federal or state judges,” if it is sponsored by organizations other than the federal government or certain bar associations, according to the Los Angeles legal publication. It would also create a dollar limit on the gifts that judges may accept annually.
The bill to which the proposed amendment is tied calls for annual pay for federal district judges to be bumped up from $166,000 to $247,800. (A less generous version approved by the House Judiciary Committee calls for a $218,000 annual salary.)
