An Honorable Salary? - National Center for State Courts

AN HONORABLE SALARY?
(2012)
BY DENNIS J. CURRAN
September 3, 2012
"It is essential to the preservation of the rights of the individual, his life, liberty, property,
and character, that there be an impartial interpretation of the laws, and the administration
of justice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial and
independent as the lot of humanity will admit. It is therefore, not only the best policy but for
the security of the rights of the people, and of every citizen that the judges of the supreme
judicial court should hold their offices as long as they behave themselves as well, and that
they should have honorable salaries ascertained and established by
standing laws."
-- Constitution of Massachusetts. Art. XXIX. (Emphasis added).
Photograph Credit
The photograph on the cover of this Report was taken by Finnegan Photographers of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Copyright © Finnegan Photographers. (2011).
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AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The accompanying Report, entitled “An Honorable Salary? (2012)” updates a
report issued last year on the issue of judicial compensation in Massachusetts.
The Report offers a different perspective on this issue. The findings are
startling:
• There are 4,045 state, city and town workers who are paid
more than state trial judges.
• At just 20 Massachusetts municipalities, over 1,680 city and
town workers earned more annually than the salary of state
trial judges.
• At 33 Massachusetts law firms, first year associates are paid
better than Massachusetts trial judges.
• Massachusetts trial judges rank 47th nationally when salary is
adjusted for cost of living -- with states such as Mississippi,
Alabama, Arkansas, Montana, and North Dakota paying their
judges more. On an unadjusted basis, Massachusetts judges'
salaries rank 30th, but are exceeded by every other industrial
state, except Ohio.
The Report used payroll information obtained under public records requests
and other public information. No employee is identified by name.
The Report was drafted, prepared, printed and distributed at no public
expense.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Constitution of Massachusetts. Art. XXIX ............................................... i
An Executive Summary ............................................................................ ii
Table of Contents ..................................................................................... iii
An Honorable Salary?................................................................................. 1
I. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH OTHER STATE, CITY AND TOWN WORKERS…….. 3
Table 1 (See Appendix)
Illustration 1 .................................................................................. 4
II. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH FIRST YEAR LAWYERS ................................................. 5
Table 2 .......................................................................................... 6
Illustration 2 .................................................................................. 8
III. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH CITY AND TOWN WORKERS ..................................... 9
Table 3 (See Appendix)
Illustration 3 ................................................................................ 10
IV. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH THOSE OF OTHER STATES ...................................... 11
Table 4......................................................................................... 12
Illustration 4 ................................................................................ 14
V. THE MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIARY..................................... 15
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APPENDIX
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 1: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with other state, public
authority and certain city and town employees in Massachusetts
TABLE 2: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with starting salaries for
first year associates at Massachusetts' largest law firms
TABLE 3: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with city and town workers
TABLE 4: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with those of other states
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Illustration 1: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with other state, public
authorities, and certain cities and towns in Massachusetts
Illustration 2: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with first year lawyers at
Massachusetts law firms
Illustration 3: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with city and town
workers
Illustration 4: Massachusetts trial judges' salary compared with those of other states
MISCELLANEOUS
Report to the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the Advisory
Board on Compensation. June 2008.
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AN HONORABLE SALARY? 1
By Dennis J. Curran 2 3
As trial judges, we are deeply honored to serve, embrace the mission of justice under
the law as our life's purpose, and are privileged to hold a respected position among our
fellow women and men. Thus, this is not the usual plaint about how overworked and
underpaid we, as trial judges, are. Rather, this is an effort to offer a different, somewhat
global perspective on the issue of judicial pay. This broader view is not intended to
overlook the rich benefits attendant to this office: a decent retirement system and generous
leave provisions that are likely the envy of those in the private sector; indeed, there are few
judges who can even exercise the latter's full benefits. Moreover, this perspective is offered,
well knowing the difficult economic times in which we live, the budget cuts sustained by
the courts, and our only recent ability to fund pay raises promised to often
underappreciated staff workers (a workforce of 3,000, of whom 75% are women whose
average salary is $37,000 a year).4
1 The opinions expressed in this article reflect only those of the author, and represent neither the official position nor policy of
the Superior Court or the Massachusetts trial courts.
2
The author is an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
3 A team of summer interns performed the research for this report, lead by Project Directors Vincent N. DePalo (University of
New Hampshire School of Law ‘13) and Phillip Myles Zabriskie (Franklin & Marshall ‘13). Team members included Roger
Williams University School of Law student Lesley Jackson (’14) and Suffolk University School of Law student Nicolas Walsh
(‘14). Roger Williams University School of Law students Raquel Thomas (‘12), Jared Ballin (‘13), Katherine McCann (‘12), and
Stephen R. Deering ('11), Suffolk University School of Law student Amanda M. Chaves (‘13), and Boston University School of
Law student David Gately ('13) contributed significantly to last year’s edition of this Report.
Local 6 Trial Court Employees Win $30 Million Back Pay, WHITE COLLAR, OFFICE & PROF’L EMPLOYEES INT'L
UNION, AFL-CIO, CLC, No. 509, Issue 2, (Spring 2010), at 3, available at http://www. drspeo.com/images/pdfs/
White_Collar_509.pdf.
4
Copyright © 2012.
Reproduction, with attribution, is encouraged.
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However, there is a gnawing feeling that something is wrong.5 And there is.
Thus, we bring this issue into focus by using four different points of view.
5 This is not the first time in recent history the issue has been raised. The Advisory Board on Compensation, created under §5
of chapter 140 of the Acts of 2007, was authorized to study the adequacy, inter alia, of judicial compensation. Over three years
ago, the Board found that judges were subjected to "an erratic history of salary adjustments ... No salary adjustments were made
in 14 of the past 20 years [now 18 of the past 24 years]". For example, unlike members of collective bargaining units, judges
receive no cost of living adjustments (COLA). See Report to the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by the
Advisory Board on Compensation. June 20, 2008. A copy of this Report appears in the Appendix.
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I. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED WITH
OTHER STATE, CITY AND TOWN WORKERS.
There are 4,045 state, city and town workers in Massachusetts who are paid more
annually than state trial court judges. 6 7 (A list identifying each such employee by position
or title and annual earnings in 2011 may be found at Table 18; see also Illustration 1.) 9 10
6 Indeed, seven state employees earn more than the President of the United States. See 3 U.S.C. § 102. ("The President shall
receive in full for his services... [an] aggregate amount of $400,000 a year... and in addition an expense allowance of $50,000 to
assist in defraying expenses relating to or resulting from the discharge of his official duties.")
7 Under G.L. c. 211B, § 4, the annual salary of a Massachusetts trial court justice is $129,694. Compare with G.L. c. 12, § 15, as
detailed in the Report by the Advisory Board on Compensation. See Appendix.
8
Due to its length, this Table may be found in the Appendix.
This list ranks total annual earnings of state, public authorities and certain city employees as compared to the annual salary of
state trial judges. The distinction may be notable for some, but not likely many, state, city or town employees because annual
earnings may be unusual for a particular year due to the payment of accrued sick, contract benefits, lump sum worker
compensation or other case settlements. For police and firefighters, base earnings may also be supplemented by overtime, detail
work and Quinn bill benefits. See also infra footnote 10.
9
10 Unlike many other state, city or town employees, judges are strictly prohibited from serving, paid or unpaid, as an officer,
director, manager, advisor or employee of any business. See Code of Judicial Conduct Canons 4 and 5 (C) (2). They may,
however, accept "reasonable and commensurate'' compensation from teaching, honoraria or speaking so long as no conflict of
interest is created thereby. Essentially, any compensation from evening teaching (the most common source of additional
income) is quite modest, and usually fails to exceed $5,000 for each semester taught.
According to the 2012 edition of the Massachusetts Lawyers’ Diary Directory of Legal Pages, about 66 of the 379 state trial judges (i.e.,
158 district court and special justices, 82 superior court justices, 51 probate and family court justices, 41 juvenile court justices,
30 Boston municipal court justices, 10 housing court justices, and 7 land court justices) (see G.L. c.211, § 2) held down night and
weekend jobs by teaching in 2011. See “Biographies of Massachusetts Judges” section, pages 1 through 70.
http://www.lawdiary.com/docs/subscribers/MA_Judicial_Biographies.pdf.
-3-
Illustration 1:
Massachusetts Trial Judges' Salary Compared with Other State, Public Authorities, And
Certain Cities And Towns In Massachusetts
Source :
, “Your Tax Dollars at Work”, 2012
ity and town responses to ublic ecords requests under G.L. c. 66 § 10
-4-
II. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED WITH
FIRST YEAR LAWYERS.
First year associates at 33 Massachusetts law firms are paid better than Massachusetts
trial judges.
While clearly talented, these freshly-minted lawyers are often prohibited by their law
firms from trying significant cases in Massachusetts' courtrooms, yet their salary exceeds
that of the judges (who often possess at least a decade or two of trial experience) who
preside over those very same courtrooms. (A list of the 33 largest law firms in
Massachusetts whose first year associates' salaries exceed $129,694 follows at Table 2; see
also Illustration 2).
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TABLE 2
Massachusetts Trial Judges' Salary Compared with Starting Salaries for First Year
Associates at Massachusetts' Largest Law Firms
Law Firms
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Bingham McCutchen, LLP
Brown Rudnick, LLP
Choate Hall & Stewart
Cooley, LLP
Dechert LLP
DLA Piper
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley Hoag, LLP
Goodwin Procter, LLP
Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Jones Day LLP
K&L Gates LLP
McDermott Will & Emery
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Proskauer Rose LLP
Ropes & Gray, LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP
Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, LLP
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLP
Holland & Knight, LLP
Nixon Peabody, LLP
Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sullivan & Worcester, LLP
Littler Mendelson P.C.
McCarter & English, LLP
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP
Sunstein Kann Murphy & Timbers, LLP
Hamilton, Brook Smith & Reynolds, P.C.
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Massachusetts Trial Judges
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Starting
Salary as of
January 2012
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$160,000
$145,000
$145,000
$145,000
$145,000
$145,000
$145,000
$140,000
$135,000
$135,000
$135,000
$130,000
$130,000
$129,694
Mean (of first year law firm associates’ salaries):
$152,575.76
Median (of first year law firm associates’ salaries):
$160,000.00
Massachusetts trial judges’ salary:
$129,694.00
1
Sources: Lawyers Weekly, 100 Largest Law Firms in Massachusetts, 2012. These figures reflect only
those law firms whose first year associates’ salaries exceed that of state trial judges. See also NALP Directory
of Legal Employers, National Association for Law Placement, 2012. 17 July 2012.
<www.nalpdirectory.com>.
-7-
Illustration 2:
$130,000
$135,000
$140,000
$145,000
$150,000
$155,000
$160,000
Massachusetts Trial Judges’ Salary Compared With First Year Associates at Massachusetts’ Largest
Law Firms1
Brown Rudnick, LLP
Bingham McCutchen, LLP
Cooley, LLP
Choate Hall & Stewart
DLA Piper
Dechert LLP
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Foley Hoag, LLP
Foley & Lardner LLP
Goodwin Procter, LLP
Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
Jones Day LLP
Greenberg Traurig LLP
K&L Gates LLP
McDermott Will & Emery
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Ropes & Gray, LLP
Proskauer Rose LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLP
Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale and Dorr, LLP
Nixon Peabody, LLP
Holland & Knight, LLP
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP
Littler Mendelson P.C.
Sullivan & Worcester, LLP
McCarter & English, LLP
Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, LLP
Sunstein Kann Murphy & Timbers, LLP
Hamilton, Brook Smith & Reynolds, P.C.
Massachusetts Trial Judges
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
$125,000
1
: Lawyers Weekly, 100 Largest Law Firms in Massachusetts, 2012. These figures reflect only those law firms whose first year associates’ salaries exceed that of state
trial judges; NALP Directory of Legal Employers, National Association for Law Placement, 2012. 17 July 2012. <www.nalpdirectory.com>.
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III. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH CITY AND TOWN WORKERS.
At just 20 Massachusetts municipalities, over 1,680 city and town workers earn more
annually than state trial judges. (See Table 3 11 and Illustration 3).
11
Due to its length, this Table may be found in the Appendix.
-9-
Illustration 3:
Massachusetts Trial Judges’ Salary Compared With City and Town Workers
Source :
, “Your Tax Dollars at Work”, 2012
ity and town responses to ublic ecords requests under G.L. c. 66 § 10
- 10 -
IV. MASSACHUSETTS TRIAL JUDGES' SALARY COMPARED
WITH THOSE OF OTHER STATES.
Massachusetts trial judges rank 47th nationally when salary is adjusted for cost of
living. Our state exceeds only New York, Vermont, Maine and Hawaii.12 When unadjusted
for inflation, Massachusetts judges' salaries rise to 30th, but still lag behind every other
industrial state except Ohio. (A list ranking all state trial judges may be found in the
accompanying Table 4; see also Illustration 4).
For a comparison of Massachusetts trial judges’ salaries with the national average, see
Table 4.
12
This list includes the District of Columbia.
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TABLE 4 State Trial Courts13 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
Salary
Illinois
California
Delaware
Alaska
District of Columbia
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Nevada
Virginia
Tennessee
Georgia
Rhode Island
Washington
Connecticut
Arizona
Florida
Maryland
Michigan
New Hampshire
Louisiana
Iowa
New York
Arkansas
Hawaii
Alabama
Texas
Utah
Nebraska
South Carolina
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Colorado
West Virginia
Indiana
Wyoming
Kentucky
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Vermont
Ohio
Missouri
Kansas
North Dakota
Oregon
Montana
Idaho
Maine
New Mexico
South Dakota
Mississippi
$180,802
$178,789
$178,449
$177,888
$174,000
$169,541
$165,000
$160,000
$158,134
$156,792
$149,873
$149,207
$148,832
$146,780
$145,000
$142,178
$140,352
$139,919
$137,804
$137,744
$137,700
$136,700
$136,257
$136,127
$134,943
$132,500
$132,150
$132,053
$130,312
$129,694
$129,124
$128,600
$128,598
$126,000
$125,200
$125,200
$124,620
$124,382
$124,373
$122,867
$121,350
$120,484
$120,037
$119,330
$114,468
$113,928
$112,043
$111,969
$111,631
$110,377
$104,170
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
Salary Adjusted for Cost of Living
Illinois
$190,171
Tennessee
$173,391
Delaware
$168,913
Pennsylvania
$166,468
Nevada
$164,674
Virginia
$163,309
Georgia
$158,439
Arkansas
$151,141
Michigan
$150,628
Texas
$145,740
Florida
$145,555
Washington
$145,118
Alabama
$145,015
Louisiana
$144,823
Utah
$144,777
Iowa
$144,548
Nebraska
$142,340
Arizona
$140,784
Oklahoma
$137,550
California
$137,503
Indiana
$136,200
Kentucky
$136,147
South Carolina
$133,294
Alaska
$133,068
Wisconsin
$132,186
West Virginia
$130,809
Missouri
$129,302
Ohio
$129,198
Kansas
$128,987
North Carolina
$128,517
Wyoming
$127,259
New Jersey
$127,206
Colorado
$126,749
Minnesota
$124,966
North Dakota
$122,978
District of Columbia
$121,251
Idaho
$120,955
Rhode Island
$118,660
New Hampshire
$114,906
Montana
$113,810
Maryland
$113,037
Mississippi
$112,457
New Mexico
$112,383
South Dakota
$110,968
Connecticut
$110,271
Oregon
$107,130
Massachusetts
$106,153
New York
$105,131
Vermont
$100,588
Maine
$99,023
Hawaii
$81,018
13 Source: National Center for State Courts. Survey of Judicial Salaries. Vol. 37, No. 1. These salaries are as of January 1, 2012. - 12 -
TABLE 4 (Concluded)
SALARIES FOR ALL STATE TRIAL COURT JUDGES14 15:
ADJUSTED FOR COST OF LIVING
Mean:
$132,322
Median:
$130,809
Massachusetts:
$106,153
Source: National Center for State Courts. Survey of Judicial Salaries. Vol. 37, No. 1. Salaries reported are as of January 1,
2012.
14
15
This includes the District of Columbia.
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Illustration 4:
Massachusetts Trial Judges’ Salary Compared with Those of Other
States16
Adjusted for Cost of Living
Salary
16
Source: National Center for State Courts Vol. 37, No. 1. Survey of Judicial Salaries.
These salaries are as of January 1, 2012.
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V. THE MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIARY.
Judges represent a constitutionally created, co-equal branch of government.
See Constitution of Massachusetts, Art. XXX. In drafting our Constitution, John
Adams wrote that:
"It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every individual, his
life, liberty, property, and character, that there be an impartial
interpretation of the laws, and the administration of justice. It is the
right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial and
independent as the lot of humanity will admit." Constitution of
Massachusetts. Art. XXIX.
Adams also declared that judges "should have honorable salaries ascertained
and established by standing laws."17 Ibid.
It is regrettable that this noble vision has become so unfocused.
Is this what John Adams had in mind?
17 Although Article XXIX dealt with the Supreme Judicial Court, the point carries equal weight for all judicial officers. The
Superior Court was not established until 1859.
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