Salary a concern for Florida Supreme Court

The job pays $161,000 a year, comes with black robes and is considered the highest honor for a Florida lawyer.

But as Gov. Charlie Crist goes looking for four new Florida Supreme Court justices over roughly the next 18 months, he may find slim pickings.

The departures of Justices Raoul G. Cantero III and Kenneth Bell, the newest and youngest members of the seven-member bench, highlight the drawbacks of the prestigious job, particularly for younger candidates with growing families. (story here)

Comments

Ordinary state employees who ALSO have to pay for their health insurance are typically paid so little that their kids qualify for KidCare, but are EXCLUDED because they are children of state employees.

The average state employee is the least paid in the nation and whose annual salary is less than what a member makes for 60 days of "work."

Members of the Legislature receive FREE HEALTH INSURANCE (family plan) and FREE DENTAL INSURANCE (family plan) PLUS are paid FEDERAL PER DIEM RATES (almost 2X that of the state rate) and RECEIVE an ADDITIONAL $4,000-$5,000 for their 60 days in Tallahassee (even though many fly home every Friday morning and return on Monday afternoon with the State paying over $700 each weekend so they can go home).

State prosecutors and agency attorneys make less than many school teachers (who work 9 months a year) and nurses.

While I feel for the Justices - the rest of us can't afford gas to work, work in buildings where the ac is turned on at 8 and off at 5 M-F, even though we come in to work early, work late and are required to work on weekends (all for no additional pay).

Thank you Republicans!

[terminator]

maybe these guys should remember it's about PUBLIC SERVICE.
If you're in it for the money, you're in the wrong business!
Justice can't be bought can it? Well I guess OJ proved that theory wrong!

It is a marketplace. You pay the market price or you don't get top talent. It is a very bad thing for a state of 12 million people to have only mediocre talent available to its highest court.

Judges are like sheriff's: if they're doing a good job you don't have to think much about them, but if they're not up to the job, all hell breaks loose.

10:58

You say, "maybe these guys should remember it's about PUBLIC SERVICE."

What do you do for a living. Should you impose a lower standard of living on your family because you happen to work for the government.

Government employees aren't your slaves. Pay them what they are worth or expect the good ones to move on.

By your rule, garbage men who work for the city would be happy to take less than those who work for a private company because it is PUBLIC SERVICE.

[terminator]

11:06
I was a public servant for over thirty years (teacher/school administrator).
We were always taught back in college if you were going into education for the money than forget about it.
If the justices were more concerned about money they should instead seek employment at a high priced law firm and forget about being a judge.
What the h*ll has happened to this country where everyone has turned into a greedy materialistic give me more give me more person.
Our ancestors would be rolling in their graves and this is the reason the US is going down the tubes.
Do you think the Chinese and Indians are as worried about money as we Americans are?
The cause of the current recession is unmitigated greed by big oil companies, defense contractors like Haliburton and Wall Street firms like Bear Stearns, Lehman Bros and all the subprime mortgage hustlers.
They can all go to h*ll. F em! Hope they die broke!

[Aquaserpent]

The problem I see is greed, Judges have so many perks it is obscene. Remember it is not dignified for a Judge to be seen outside smoking with the hired help, so even though it is illegal to smoke in a public building, a Judge can smoke in his office. A Judge doesn’t typically arrest anyone but allowed to carry a gun into court, while the rest of us have to leave ours at home and pray the Sherriff Deputies are Johnny on the spot. A Judge doesn’t get free health care, well stop the presses, between my employer and myself, we pay approximately $12,000.00 a year for family health care coverage (and remember it is all considered part of my total pay package). At the average pay of $70,000.00 dollars, (I’d really like to know how that number was reached) that is still 17% of the total income. Not a good investment for anyone wishing to retire anytime soon and for those of us who do not make $70,000.00 annually the numbers get worse.

There's another issue, outside supply and demand - if you can't survived on $160,000 a year, something is terribly, terribly wrong.

[Ooja]

Of course they can make more money. a lot of politicians can. They either care more about lost of money, or public service

12:12 - it is one thing to "survive" and most people want more than to just survive...they want to be able to provide for their families and that means being able to afford the cost of private, Ivy League colleges, among other things. Most smart "Supreme Court level" lawyers can easily make at least 5 times the $160,000 salary level without breaking a sweat.

Let me rephrase, then. If you can't thrive on $160,000 (and I certainly could) then something is terribly, terribly wrong.

Have any of you read their opinions? $161,000 is too much. They are grossly overpaid given the intellectual laziness, outright dishonesty, arrogance emminating from their opinions.

Maybe we could privatize our court system to India - we can hire them cheap!!!!

While we're at it, why don't we fire all the teachers and close all the schools? We could contract for a retired teacher in each subject area for each grade to record their lecture on U-Tube and then everyone could just learn at their own pace!

Hey, maybe this would work for nuclear engineers, nurses, doctors, and airplane pilots!!

Yep, government on the cheap!!!!!

4:41 & 4:44 - You miss the point. Its about getting your money's worth and 4 of these bozos (Pariente, Anstead, Lewis and Quince) aren't worth the salary of a first year summer intern. I have law clerks more analytical and honest that these jurisprudential illiterates. Paying more isn't an answer. There are plenty of lawyers making less than 100,000 right now who are 10 times the lawyers these idiots are. If a lawyer wants to make tons of money stay in private practice. Serving the public is its own reward, or at least it should be.

I didn't hear Justice Cantero or Bell gripe about their salary or even hint that it was an issue for them or related to the reason they decided to leave.

5:49 - you probably pay your law clerks more than most prosecutors for agencies - now THEY do public service while you cast stones from your glass house!

9:10 - 5:49 here. You are wrong on what I pay my law clerks and I support a higher rate of pay for prosecutors because they deserve it. These justices do not. You miss the point completely.

5:49 - maybe you should assign your highly paid law clerks to write you a memo on Rule 4-8.2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct on Impugning the Qualifications and Integrity of Judges. You might not agree with the rulings of the Justices, but calling them bozos and implying that they are not honest goes beyond fair comment.

11:46 - Your defense of the court is understandable as an uninformed knee-jerk reaction, but there are plenty of examples of the court misrepresenting law or key facts on the record. Look at the dissents in 4/3 decisions over the past ten years and you will find several.

Really 10:00 pm - you pay your law clerks and your paralegals less than $34,501.48 the starting salary for an attorney with a state agency?

$161,000?

Can't afford that, then don't even apply.

7:44 don't worry at such a salary only the ones that have law practices that will benefit finacially from their appointment will apply!

Just won't be blind, just bought and paid for!

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Why is it the "business" oriented Republicans who generally espouse sound business practices and say, "you get what you pay for" then turn around and claim that doesn't apply to anything government related. As if anyone who is employed by the government should be greatful for the opportunity to serve the ever so appreciative public and should not be concerned whether or not they can pay their rent, educate their children, or plan for their own retirement?

12:43: If you can't pay your rent, educate your children and plan for a retirement on 161,000 - you have a seerious problem. Ever heard of budgeting??? Public service can't and never will compete with a for profit private sector. Learn economics 101. The tone of your post shows that you are obviously a bitter and dissatisfied public employee. Why don't you go work for the private sector if you want to make more money, don't blame it on the fact that you have a taxpayer funded job. With your attitude I doubt the public is getting their monies worth.

9:25 am - you can't do those things on $34,501.48 the starting salary for an attorney with the state, and you'd be darn lucky to make $55,000 after working with the state for 10 years.

And, if all the experienced attorneys left, then who would be around to successfully prosecute child abusers, dirty and dangerous nursing homes, filthy restaurants, and contractors using substandard materials?

But go ahead, continue the Republican tirade against public service - while you privatize to the highest bidder who outsources to India and then fails to deliver what was promised.

Republicans - I'll most certainly remember this November.

12:37 I have said all along that I supported higher pay for prosectors, but we are talking about upping the pay of supreme court justices here (hence the reference to 161,000), not all publicly employeed attorneys.