The News & Observer of Raleigh reports on about two dozen judges who have refused to take a pay cut ordered by Gov. Bev Perdue for state employees.
Since judges are elected, the governor lacks authority to tinker with their salaries, but Sarah Parker, chief justice of the state Supreme Court, has urged the judicial branch to voluntarily reduce their salaries.
From the N&O:
The judges offered several reasons for their decisions. Some said they were taking a principled stand for an independent judiciary, and some disagreed with the governor’s proposal. Others said there was no way that judges could take the furlough that is part of the pay cut. Others could not be reached by reporters or the state.
“I personally think we have a brave governor,” said District Court Judge Lloyd Gentry of Caswell County. “If nothing else, she is brave. She takes 3 percent of all state employees’ checks in May and June. I respectfully disagree.”
The “independent judiciary” argument doesn’t hold water, in my view. If anything, it reinforces the elitist aura that tends to emanate from the judicial branch. How does taking a half percent pay cut, along with the rest of state employees, in any way imperil judicial independence?
From later in the N&O report:
District Court Judge Charles Vincent of Greenville said he objected to the pressure being put on judges. He said that he had heard that judges who did not comply would have their names “turned over to the press resulting in embarrassment and possible damage to any re-election possibility.”
Well, if a judge refuses to take a half percent reduction in salary along with everyone else, that’s information voters would probably be interested in.
The N&O reports that most judges have agreed to the pay cut. All of the judges who have declined the pay cut make six figures.
