‘We’re the third world branch.’ Why KY chief justice wants pay raises for judicial employees
Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice Minton said that the “future of the bench is at stake” if lawmakers don’t raise salaries for judges and those who work for the state’s judicial branch.
Minton, who is retiring at the end of this year after 16 years on the state’s highest court, told members of the House Standing Committee on Appropriations and Revenue Tuesday that low salaries are keeping qualified employees and potential justices away from public service.
“We’re not just the third branch, we’re the third world branch,” he said.
In response, Minton is recommending a flat $10,000 raise for all full-time judicial branch employees from top to bottom — a move that he said is more equitable than the currently proposed 6% raise for state government employees.
That raise would also apply to judges. Minton said that he believes some places have already seen a drop off in the quality of judge candidates in recent years because of the low pay, not a good sign for the health of the state’s justice system.
Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, agreed. The attorney, who has previously served as chief of staff to former Chief Justice Joseph E. Lambert and as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, said that the quality of judicial candidates is “lessening.”
He said that a number of attorneys running to become a judge have never taken depositions or sent an invoice.
“I’m very worried,” Nemes said. “If we look at our Bill of Rights, those are just paper rights. They mean nothing without a man or woman behind them, without a judge ready to enforce them.”
Rep. Lynn Bechler, R-Marion, said that he saw no lack of candidates running for open posts and wasn’t sold on the necessity of Minton’s request. Minton responded that, for some candidates, a seat on the bench might be a pay increase — meaning that they might not be as qualified as someone who makes a more robust salary practicing law.
“It provides little incentive for the best and brightest lawyers in the Commonwealth to leave… that behind and go to the bench,” Minton said.
The average salary of a general jurisdiction judge in Kentucky is about $131,000, according to the Kentucky Court of Justice (KCOJ).
A release from Minton’s office said that Kentucky’s judges rank 51st out of 55 in total pay among judges in the US and associated territories. That’s about $32,000, or 25% less, than the average pay of a general jurisdiction judge nationwide.
Administrative Office of the Courts Director Laurie Givens said that with cost of living adjustments, that puts Kentucky at around 36th or 38th in the country in terms of judge compensation.
How would $10,000 raise impact overall budget?
In advocating for a flat raise for all employees as part of his budget request’s “salary parity plan,” instead of a percentage increase, Minton emphasized that it would make a great difference to those in the branch currently earning the lowest.
That provision would cost an extra $40 million per year, but the cost would be well worth it per Minton and Givens, who presented alongside the chief justice.
The judicial budget bill sponsored by A&R Chair Rep. Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, House Bill 244, allocates just over $266 million and $274 million in the next two fiscal years. Minton’s proposal, House Bill 289, is about $40 million more each year thanks in large part to the salary provisions.
House Bill 244 takes into account the proposed 6% across-the-board raise for state government employees, but Minton said that doesn’t include judges.
“I believe we can all agree that it’s simply not rational for Judicial Branch compensation to lag so far behind the rest of state government,” Chief Justice Minton said. “But starting today — with this discussion — we can move quickly toward a remedy that will significantly close this longtime gap.”
Givens said that not only are the salaries in the judicial branch lagging behind other branches, but they’re also lower than those in other local offices. Workers in local circuit court clerk’s offices, he said, are generally paid less than those who work for the county clerk.
When asked by Rep. Melinda Gibbons Prunty, R-Belton, if there was a number that he would be willing to accept lower than a $10,000 raise for all employees, Minton did not name a figure but said he’d be open to discussing the matter with anyone.
Minton’s request, as detailed in House Bill 289, has not been assigned to a committee. Petrie’s House Bill 244 was last assigned to Appropriations and Revenue in mid-January. The GOP budget bill for the state/executive branch — House Bill 1, which does not include the judicial branch — passed overwhelmingly out of the House and has been assigned to a Senate committee.
