Federal judicial salaries are woefully inadequate. Over the past 30 years, judges’ salaries have declined in value while the salaries of average American workers have increased 17.5 %. In comparison to their 1969 salaries (when adjusted for inflation), the current salaries of our lower court judges have declined 23.5% in value. The loss in purchasing power is even worse for our Supreme Court justices – their salaries have declined by 37.3 %.

The situation has deteriorated to the point where some federal judges earn less than first-year associates in major law firms—the very same associates who may have clerked here in this building the preceding year. Inadequate and inequitable judicial salaries that don’t even keep pace with inflation are unfair to some of most important public servants.

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Stephanie Ortbals-Tibbs
Phone: 202/662-1091
Email: ortbals-TibbsS@staff.abanet.org