Sheesh, what Chief Justice Roberts REALLY said...

[madmusic]

http://www.scotusblog.com/movabletype/archives/Roberts%202006%20report.pdf">2006 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary.

Hat tip to http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2007/01/a_new_years_tra.html

[JDPriestly]

1. Pay of Chief Justice same as VP and Speaker of House

Guess what, Justice Roberts, public employees sacrifice pay in order to serve their country. What a concept -- serving your country instead of accumulating great wealth.

It is highly unlikely that representatives who earn "only" $162,100 are going to be extremely moved by Justice Roberts' argument that the Dean of Harvard Law School is earning twice that of the federal judges who earn ................. $162,100. Why should representatives pay judges more than the representatives pay themselves? Roberts wasted his opportunity to say something meaningful in his annual report.

Personally, I think that if Roberts can't do his homework and research the relevant analogous pay scale(which is that of other federal employees, not that of administrators at private law schools with huge endowments), he does not belong on the Supreme Court. Republicans lowered the taxes on the rich while fighting a very expensive war. That means there is less money for judges' salaries, silly man.

For a comparison of the relevant federal salaries, see http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/98-53.pdf

[aquart]

2. Being Chief Justice not as much fun as he thought?

Perhaps he should quit.

[JDPriestly]

3. Good idea. I don't think Pelosi is going to give him a raise.

[bananas]

7. I'm plastered, can somebody summarize this in a sentence or two? nt

[MiniMe]

4. He is writing about Federal judges, not SCOTUS

His point is that qualified people can earn much more in a law firm than as a judge. I agree with that, however, I think that becoming a judge was meant to come after a career in a law firm gathering wisdom as you go. That way you have already made your money, and being a judge is an honor. Lifetime appointments are not for decades that way either.

Just my 2 cents.

[XOKCowboy]

5. Federal Judge or SCOTUS shouldn't be about the money..

As you said they should have made their money and now wish to uphold the Constitution and laws of the land. I find it hard to sympathize or agree with Justice Roberts on this point.

[Sgent]

6. The problem is if they are not making enough

then it becomes a bidding war for justice.

Judge A wants to work for Lawfirm 1 in 2 years, so he treats their lawyers with a slight advantage (even if unconscious). Too large a disparity between Judge's pay and the pay for the average litigating attorney opens the way to corruption and justice being for sale -- even more than it is now.

[radfringe]

8. brings up another question

how much is enough?

Greed has no limits.

[MikeNearMcChord]

9. Cry me a river for these guys

I mean it ain't exactly like they need to go Kelly Services or the unemployment office to advertise an opening for one of these jobs. When there is a vacancy, you have people angling every which way for the job. 90% of working America would love to get that "slave wage". So cry me river Justice Roberts, cry me a river.

[liberalhistorian]

11. Amen!

As a paralegal, I know first-hand that even most attorneys don't make as much as federal judges, unless they're corporate attorneys or one of the blood-sucking debt collectroll vultures. Most of these whiners like Roberts have no fucking idea at all of what it's like to be unemployed and desperate for a job, or underemployed. NONE whatsoever.

[On the Road]

10. I Don't Think $162K is Overpaid for Someone

at that level of government. You have real estate agents, computer salesmen, and corporate VPs who make more than that, not to mention law partners. Buying a decent house in DC and supporting a family (which the salary should reflect) are very expensive.

The income gap needs to be addressed at the bottom.