Greedy Trial Lawyer
Federal Judges Are Bewailing Again
Category: News Defused
Federal judges have perfected the art of bewailing. Whenever the opportunity arises they bewail the poverty in which they live. They seize upon any available statistic as an argument for higher pay, even if they have to twist the facts 180 degrees.
Judges Make More Headlines Bewailing Low Pay
Federal judges think they're paid too little. They earn $165,200 a year, placing them in the top 10% income bracket among Americans.Here is a provocative chart, courtesy of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, that accompanied the story:
Empty Benches: Number of federal circuit and district court judges departing, by decade:
1958-69: 3
1970-79: 22
1980-89: 41
1990-99: 55
2000-2009: 68 (51 have left: 17 are projected departures)
"This trajectory is of great concern to us, and we are fearful that we are approaching the tipping point," says Brock Hornby, a federal judge in Maine and chair of a judges' panel on salaries. He called the rising number of departures "historic."
From WSJ Law Blog
I calculate the percentage increase in departures of federal judges from the 55 in the 90's to the 68 in the first decade of the our new century to be 24%. Standing alone that increase may seem "historic" to Judge Hornby, but doing some more math shows a very different picture.
The percentage increase in departures from the 80's to the 90's was 34%. And, from the 70's to the 80's was 86%. These percentages indicate that the increase in departures is actually at an "historic" low in this decade.
Furthermore, if the overall size of the federal judiciary has been dramatically increasing decade after decade, which numerous studies of the federal judiciary since the early 1900's show is the case, a substantial increase of departures would have to be expected. The graphs in one study show upward growth curves which would be the envy of any Fortune 500 company. Let's face it - the federal judiciary is a very protected and favored industry. Outsourcing to foreign countries is not an option. Judges get lifetime appointments during which they can annually complain about their compensation. More and more lawsuits and criminal prosecutions occur each year as our population increases.
With due respect, your Honors, cut the bewailing.
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