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41 McGeorge L. Rev. 581 (2009-2010)
Superior Court Judges Allowed to Keep Their Job Perks from the Counties

handle is hein.journals/mcglr41 and id is 591 raw text is: Chapter 9: Superior Court Judges Allowed to Keep Their Job Perks from the Counties Skylar Curtis Code Sections Affected Government Code §§ 68220, 68221, 68222 (new). SBX2 11 (Steinberg); 2009 STAT. Ch. 9. I. INTRODUCTION Judicial Watch, a judicial watchdog organization, accused Los Angeles County Superior Court judges of committing a crime.' What accusation could cause hundreds of judges to consider leaving the judiciary? Bribery? Corruption? Neither. The accusation is of theft of taxpayer money.2 How did the judges allegedly steal this money? They accepted county-provided health insurance, continuing education allowances, dental plans, and meal plans, among other perks Counties provide the supplemental benefits packages in order to attract and retain quality judges. In 2008, the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that county benefit packages for California trial court judges violated the California Constitution, because only the Legislature can prescribe the compensation of judges.' Therefore, the judges are accused of accepting the benefits from the county while knowing that the benefits were unconstitutional.6 Judges in more than half of California's counties received these benefits as part of their pay for more than twenty years, and some considered leaving the bench after the Court of Appeals found the benefits unconstitutional.! To prevent judges from having to make the decision of whether to leave the bench, the 1. Malcolm Maclachlan, Counties Give Hefty Extra Pay to Judges, CAPITOL WKLY., Mar. 19, 2009, http:/t/www.capitolweekly.net/article.php?--cxuuhrxiyzftm5p&issueld-xuf2flga2c5atl&xid=xuezskz6z7x4pi (on file with the McGeorge Law Review). 2. See id (noting that Los Angeles County Superior Court judges could potentially be sued and ordered to repay county taxpayers up to $350,000 in 'local judicial benefits' they had received). 3. County-provided supplemental benefits may include designated parking spots, a car allowance, health insurance, continuing education allowances, cafeteria allowances, gym memberships, or retirement fund contribution matching. See Cheryl Miller, Calif. Judges See a Disparity in Perks, THE RECORDER, Mar. 9,2007, http://www.law.com/jsplarticle.jsp?id--900005553935 (on file with the McGeorge Law Review) (detailing the benefits that judges receive from Los Angeles County). 4. Maclachlan, supra note 1. 5. Sturgeon v. County of Los Angeles, 167 Cal. App. 4th 630,84 Cal. Rptr. 3d 242(4th Dist. 2008). 6. No charges were filed, and an immunity clause in Chapter 9 prevents the state from bringing such charges. See Maclachlan, supra note 1. 7. Victoria Kim, LA. County Judges May Face a Steep Cut in Pay, LA. TIMES, Jan. 3, 2009, at BI, available at http:llarticles.latimes.com/2009/janO3Iocal/me-judges-pay3 (on file with the McGeorge Law Review) ('I just can't keep this job, I just can't afford to, and we don't have an extravagant lifestyle.' (quoting Santa Monica Judge Joe Hillberman)).

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