From the Austin American-Statesman (Texas), February 24, 2005
Chief justice urges legislators to increase pay, retain judges
by: Stephen Scheibal, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
For those who follow such things, Wednesday's State of the Judiciary speech was something of a landmark.
Not only was the speaker someone other than Tom Phillips, the former chief justice who stepped down last year after nearly 17 years presiding over the Texas Supreme Court, but the speech to the Legislature didn't even touch on one of Phillips' longest-held political gripes: the way Texas elects judges.
Instead, new Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson pressed budgeteers for a pay raise for Texas judges.
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Jefferson also noted the judiciary's efforts to make courts more technologically nimble through electronic filings and Internet broadcasts of hearings.
He generally avoided comments about the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has come under national scrutiny amid questions about whether people whose convictions the court upheld received fair trials.
He did credit judges on that bench for encouraging both the investigation of innocence claims and better representation for poor defendants.
He ignored altogether his predecessor's long-standing call to de-politicize judicial elections; candidates must keep voters -- and contributors -- in mind if they want to keep their jobs.
"Texas is losing judges at all levels of the judiciary due, at least in part, to salaries that have not kept pace with the times," Jefferson said.
Referring to judges who have recently departed the bench, he added, "Let us admit to ourselves that the judiciary suffers from the loss of their expertise, integrity and experience."
District judges are paid about $101,000 per year, not counting stipends from local governments. Appellate judges receive about $107,000 and those on the high courts receive $113,000. That's good money compared with the earnings of other government employees, Jefferson acknowledged. But he noted that judges can make far more at a big law firm or in a federal court.
Jefferson also warned that low pay encourages turnover, leaving inexperienced judges to handle cases and risking needless delays or mistakes. It also could lead to judges being more worried about how a decision looks on a resume than whether it is just.
"A transitory judiciary is inevitable, I am sad to say, if a judge can serve only as long as his or her savings permit," Jefferson said.
Talking to reporters after the speech, Jefferson said proposed budgets for judicial pay raises run from $40 million to more than $75 million. He also cited a study by the Texas Judicial Council, which calls for boosting judges' salaries by about 37 percent.
Rounding out his pitch to lawmakers, who set salaries, Jefferson praised both Gov. Rick Perry and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn for supporting his cause. The two, who may face off in next year's GOP gubernatorial primary, have seldom found themselves on the same side of an issue lately.
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