Yet again, Congress failed to provide federal judges with a cost-of-living pay increase to which they are entitled. Not only has judicial pay not kept pace with salaries in the legal market, but it has not even kept pace with inflation.
Pay Comparison
In 2008, district court judges were paid $169,300 and circuit court judges were paid $179,500. These seem like pretty good salaries, until one puts them in perspective.
Brand new law school graduates in big city firms are currently earning $160,000, exclusive of any potential year end bonus (although these jobs are harder to come by in the present economy). Meanwhile, profits per partner at the top 100 law firms have risen to $1.3 million, with a number passing the $2 million mark. Meanwhile, the top 50 most highly compensated general counsels at Fortune 500 companies made at least $1.2 million in cash payments, not including stock options and other compensation.
The high salaries are not limited to private law practice and corporate America. According to a USA Today article, salaries of deans at the top 25 law schools are around $430,000, while the median salary of all law school deans in 2005 was $229,600. Senior professors at top 25 law schools earn about $330,000.
Even other government officials earn more than federal judges. For example, a supervisory technology specialist at the Comptroller of the Currency earns $225,000.
Judges are Leaving the Bench
In a September 2007 article, USA Today reported that:
Since 2005, 22 of 875 federal judges serving lifetime appointments have resigned or retired — more than at any time in history, according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Most earned higher salaries after leaving the bench. Of the 19 who have taken jobs, 14 went into private practice and five into education or government.
To put these numbers in perspective, between 1958 and 1969, only three federal judges left the bench. Between 2000 and September 2007, 51 left, with an additional 17 expected to leave before the end of 2009.
Senior Status
Once a judge reaches the age of 65 with at least 15 years on the bench (or a sliding scale up to age 70 with at least 10 years of service), he is eligible for “senior status.” At this point, the judge can continue to be paid his salary with the yearly increases that other judges receive in exchange for a lightened caseload of about one-quarter time of active judges on his court. Conversely, the judge may also retire completely and receive his then-current salary, without subsequent raises, for the remainder of his lifetime.
This seems like a pretty good deal, since a judge that elects “senior status” still performs a quarter of the work of an active judge, while his seat is also filled by a new active judge. It is estimated that senior judges handle about 15% of the federal courts’ workload.
Why would any judge take senior status, since the raises simply haven’t been there?
When adjusted for inflation, federal judges’ real pay declined 25% from 1969 to 2006, while real pay for the average U.S. worker rose 19%.
BNA reports that since 1991, Congress has rejected COLA increases for federal judges six times. During that time judicial pay has increased by 30.7%, while the consumer price index has climbed 51.4%.
Many retired federal judges are instead finding lucrative positions serving as arbitrators after leaving the bench.
What Does This Mean for the Federal Circuit?
By the end of 2009, Judges Newman, Mayer, Michel, Lourie, Schall, Gajarsa, and Dyk, will be eligible for senior status, with Judge Bryson turning 65 in 2010 and Judge Linn reaching the service requirement in the next couple of years. That’s 9 of the 12 active judges on the court.
What will happen to the court if many or all of these judges left the court within a short period of time? It would certainly leave a large void of experienced judges to handle patent appeals.
April 26, 2010 at 1:08 am |
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