New York state judges are in line to get 10 percent raises, which would hike the annual salaries of Supreme Court justices from $210,900 to $232,000.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday endorsed the raises recommended by the Commission on Legislative, Judicial, and Executive Compensation.
The salary panel voted for the ten percent hike over four years on Monday.
The raises automatically take effect next April, absent action by the legislature and governor.
Hochul appoints three of the seven members of the salary review panel, and her support makes it likely the 10 percent increase will go into effect.
“Public safety is my top priority. We cannot protect the safety of the public without a well-functioning court system. We need to attract and retain talented judges and we need our courts to fairly and promptly dispense justice,” said Hochul, who urged her appointees to back the increase in compensation
A key state lawmaker who oversees the court system also gave his blessing.
“I support the raises. You get what you pay for,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who chairs the judiciary committee.
All other trial, criminal, civil and appellate and administration judges get raises as well.
Rowan Wilson, chief judge of the state’s highest judiciary, the Court of Appeals, will see his salary jump from $240,000 to more than $268,000 under the guidelines.
The raises were necessary in order to attract legal talent to the bench, said Victor Kovner, an attorney and Hochul appointee on the panel.
He noted that first-year attorneys hired by the top legal firms out of law school get paid $215,000.
He found it “shocking and offensive” that first-year lawyers would make more than judges.
The state last raised judicial salaries in 2015.
A judicial panel in 2019 rejected pay hikes for judges under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
State legislators got a pay hike earlier this year, boosting their base salary from $110,000 to $142,000.
Kovner said the 2.54% hikes phased in over four years is comparable to salary increases for the state government’s unionized workforce.