January 7, 2009*
WHEREAS NACDL recognizes that appropriate compensation is essential to maintaining an independent and capable federal judiciary.
WHEREAS NACDL concurs with Chief Justice Roberts, as stated in his 2007 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, that “salary restoration legislation is vital now that the denial of annual increases over the years has left federal judges . . . earning about the same as (and in some cases less than) first-year lawyers at firms in major cities, where many of the judges are located.”
WHEREAS Chief Justice Roberts has reiterated the need for adequate judicial pay in his 2008 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, saying that “Last year, Congress fell just short of enacting legislation, reported out of both House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary, that would have restored cost-of-living salary adjustments that judges have been denied in past years . . . Congress has still failed to complete action on that crucial remedial legislation, despite strong bipartisan support and an aggregate cost that is miniscule in relation to the national budget and the importance of the Judiciary’s role.”
WHEREAS NACDL strongly supports legislation similar to that introduced in the 110th Congress to adjust the salaries of federal judges to reflect the same cost-of-living pay adjustments that other federal employees have received since 1989.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that NACDL will urge the 111th Congress to speedily introduce and pass legislation consistent with H.R. 3753, 110th Congress and S. 1638, 110th Congress, to increase federal judicial compensation.
*Approved by the Executive Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers as consistent with action taken by the Board of Directors on February 24, 2007.
