« Ind. Courts - More on: State workers lawsuit for back pay during 1973-1993 period begins today | Main | Ind. Courts - Still more on: State workers lawsuit for back pay during 1973-1993 period begins today »
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Courts - Highly compensated California state judges not sharing state's economic pain
That is the thrust of an AP story by Paul Elias today, published in the Washington Post. The long story begins:
SAN FRANCISCO -- California has furloughed workers and slashed programs to close a $41 billion budget gap, but it still has more than 400 judges in Los Angeles County who each make more than the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.This caught my eye:
The heftiest perks go to Los Angeles County judges, who get $46,000 a year from the county on top of their state salaries, giving them a total of $225,000. * * *Interesting, especially if read it in conjunction with the ILB entry from Dec. 29, 2008.An appellate court last year ruled that the Los Angeles County perks, which cost $21 million annually, were unconstitutional. But the judges fiercely resisted attempts to do away with the extra funds, hiring a law firm and Sacramento lobbyist to resist challenges to the benefits.
The California Judges Association also hired a Sacramento lobbyist and joined forces with the judiciary's administrative office to get legislation passed earlier this year protecting the county-provided benefits. * * *
"Quite frankly, many of these judges went on the bench understanding and relying that these benefits were there," said Child, who also said the state Constitution bars reducing an active judge's salary.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 31, 2009 04:47 PM
Posted to Courts in general