STATEMENT FROM NYS BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT KATHRYN “KATE” MADIGAN REGARDING THE FAILURE TO ENACT A PAY ADJUSTMENT FOR NEW YORK’S JUDGES.
“The New York State Bar Association and its 72,000 members remain disheartened by the continuing failure of the New York State Legislature to adjust the level of compensation for New York State Judges. The lack of a proper pay increase sends an unwanted and undeserved signal to our judiciary, which has not even received a cost-of-living upgrade in more than 8 years and only 2 adjustments over the past twenty years.
“The Bar Association has worked tirelessly in support of a fair judicial pay increase only to be stymied by the political climate in Albany. It is time for partisanship to be laid aside and for this abandonment of our exceptional judges to be remedied in order that New York State may continue to retain and attract the most qualified judges in the nation.
“It is our hope that a judicial pay increase will be the first matter on the Legislature’s agenda when they return to Albany this summer and that it is approved and signed into law by Governor Spitzer. Our judges have earned it, they deserve it, and the Legislature ought to provide it without further delay.”