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Chief justice tells judges she’ll fight for higher salaries (UPDATE)

By: Associated Press//November 11, 2015//

Chief justice tells judges she’ll fight for higher salaries (UPDATE)

By: Associated Press//November 11, 2015//

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By Todd Richmond
Associated Press

MIDDLETON, Wis. — Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Pat Roggensack promised the state’s judges Wednesday that she’ll fight for higher salaries when the Legislature begins work on the next state budget, saying their compensation should reflect their importance in maintaining constitutional liberties.

Roggensack said in her State of the Judiciary Address that she has consulted with chief justices in other states and learned how they successfully argued for raises. It was her first such address since she took over as the high court’s leader earlier this year in a dust-up with former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

“In advance of the next biennial budget, we will institute a different strategy by which to educate the Legislature on the need for increased judicial compensation as other states have done,” she said.

She didn’t give specifics in her speech about that strategy or who she consulted. She told reporters afterward she met with Ohio’s chief justice and plans to argue that higher salaries will attract a diverse array of top-tier attorneys with a wide range of experience to the judiciary.

“I think the salary does stand in the way,” she said.

Judges in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota earn considerably more than judges in Wisconsin, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice earns $147,403 compared to an average of $175,132 in the four surrounding states; an appellate judge makes $139,000 compared with $162,500; and a trial judge makes $131,200 compared with $151,968.

The fiscal bureau estimated it would cost about $6.7 million more annually to bring Wisconsin salaries up to its neighbors’ levels.

Gov. Scott Walker rejected the high court’s request to set salaries at a level comparable to the neighboring states’ average in the 2015-17 budget. The governor did propose setting up a commission of justices to study and make recommendations on compensation, but the Legislature’s finance committee deleted those provisions from the spending plan.

Roggensack is a member of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, which has been publicly feuding with the liberal-leaning Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Abrahamson had served as chief justice since 1996 by virtue of seniority, but the conservative judges stripped her of the title in April and handed it to Roggensack hours after voters officially approved a constitutional amendment allowing the justices to choose their leader.

Abrahamson refused to accept the demotion. She filed a federal lawsuit arguing no one could remove her as chief until her term expires in 2019. A judge dismissed the action in July and Abrahamson dropped her appeal Monday.

Roggensack acknowledged Abrahamson in the beginning of her speech for her “remarkable efforts” as chief justice and called for a round of applause. The judges rose in a standing ovation. It wasn’t clear if Abrahamson was in the crowd. Supreme Court spokesman Tom Sheehan said he didn’t know if she had attended. Bradley, who was in attendance, said nothing when asked if Abrahamson was there.

Roggensack also briefly mentioned the late Justice Patrick Crooks, who died in his chambers in September, and Rebecca Bradley, a judge Walker appointed to serve in Crooks’ stead until his term ends in July. Bradley is running to for Crooks’ seat in this coming April’s election, and Walker opponents say the governor essentially made her the incumbent heading into the contest.

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