District judge to resign due to insufficient pay
September 16, 2009
California: Stephen Larson, federal judge for the United States District Court for the Central District of California, has announced that he will resign from the court effective November 2, 2009 citing stagnant salaries of the federal judiciary as the reason for his departure. United States District Court judges were paid $169,300 in 2008, a 2.5 percent increase from the previous year.[1]
"The costs associated with raising our family are increasing significantly, while our salary remains stagnant and, in terms of purchasing power, is actually declining. The short of it is that I know I must place my family's interest, particularly the future of my children, ahead of my own fervent desire to remain a federal judge," he said.[2] Larson is married with seven children between the ages of 2 and 13.[3]
Audrey Collins, chief judge of the Central District of California, released a statement saying that the court is facing a "crisis of retention" and that the "crisis is due in large part to two factors: stagnating judicial compensation and ever-increasing caseloads."[4]
Footnotes
- ↑ Judicial Salaries Since 1968
- ↑ "Federal Judge Resigns, Cites Stagnant Salary and Costs of 7 Children" ABAJournal, September 17, 2009
- ↑ "Latest Departure From District Bench Shows Need for Pay Raise — Collins" Metropolitan News-Enterprise, September 16, 2009
- ↑ "STATEMENT OF CHIEF JUDGE AUDREY B. COLLINS ON THE ANNOUNCED RESIGNATION OF JUDGE STEPHEN G. LARSON" Press Release, September 15, 2009 (dead link)
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Northern District of California, Southern District of California
State courts:
California Supreme Court • California Courts of Appeal • California Superior Courts
State resources:
Courts in California • California judicial elections • Judicial selection in California
