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28 Judges J. 1 (1989)

handle is hein.journals/judgej28 and id is 1 raw text is: Court News Roundup The Federal Pay Raise Rises Again The effort to increase federal judicial pay never died. Like a phoenix, it has risen again. This time the Bush administration is expected to support an immediate 25 percent pay increase for federal judges, separate from congressional raises. (The of- ficial announcement of this was scheduled for mid- April, after this column was written, so some de- tails may change.) Another proposal by the influ- ential National Commission on Public Service, headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker, would completely restore federal judi- cial purchasing power to the base year 1969. The Volcker Commission proposal endorsed the Quad- rennial Commission's call to restore purchasing power to 1969 levels in two stages: 25 percent now, and the balance by the beginning of a new Congress in 1991. This broad new support for a federal judicial pay increase comes shortly after Congress, under pres- sure, rejected a federal pay increase for judges, leg- islators, and other high-level government officials on February 7. In spite of that rejection, the Amer- ican Bar Association and other groups have contin- ued to push for a federal judicial pay raise. The decision to propose another pay increase is appar- ently in response to this public outcry. Robert D. Raven, president of the American Bar Association, stated in a February 14, 1989, letter to all federal judges: The rejection of the Quadrennial Commis- sion's recommendation was a serious setback but is by no means the final word on the issue. The bar has a special responsibility to ensure the ef- fective functioning of the justice system, and we will continue to devote our full resources to gain- ing approval of significant judicial pay raises as soon as humanly possible. We must achieve both short-term and long-term solutions; in the short term we must gain a pay increase for the judici- ary, and in the long term we must establish a compensation system in which the judiciary will not be held hostage to extraneous political con- siderations. ABA 1989 Midyear Meeting Report The ABA House of Delegates voted in February on a number of resolutions affecting the judiciary, in- cluding one that urges states to adopt minimum standards for judicial leave. The judicial leave stan- dards, proposed by the National Conference of Special Court Judges, recommend criteria for eval- uating various types of judicial leave, including va- cation leave, holiday leave, administrative leave, professional leave, sick and disability leave, paren- tal leave, and sabbatical leave, and other leave pol- icies. The criteria are intended only to establish minimum requirements. One purpose of the standards is to assure that a judge receives necessary respite from the bench, provide time for judicial education, and afford an opportunity for a judge to make a contribution to the improvement of the administration of justice. The standards also are aimed at helping judges avoid fatigue and combat burnout. Another goal is to allay the fears of the public that judges are not accountable for time away from the bench. The fol- lowing are the proposed minimum criteria for var- ious types of leave. They are published here in an edited, abbreviated form. Vacation Leave. Judges should be granted no fewer than 21 days vacation a year and no more than 30. This is in addition to leave for other pur- poses, including sick leave, writing time, educa- tional leave, and professional leave. Holiday Leave. Judges should be entitled to no fewer than 10 holidays a year. Unless there are compelling reasons otherwise, judges should be en- titled to the same holidays granted to other state employees within the jurisdiction. Educational Leave. (1) A newly-appointed judge should receive initial orientation and training im- mediately upon assuming judicial office. (2) Within the next two years, more extensive and intensive overall orientation and training should be under- taken at recognized state and national judicial ed- ucation programs. Appropriate leave should be granted to attend these educational programs, which run from 2-4 weeks. (3) There should be a struc- tured program of continuing legal education for all Winter 1989 /, /;~~

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