Should Idaho pay its judges more? Certainly, but 30% is going to be a big ask | Opinion
The Idaho Supreme Court is planning to ask Idaho legislators for a large pay raise for judges across the board and for significant changes in the way their salaries are set moving forward.
Under the proposal revealed Thursday:
- Supreme Court justice salaries would go from $169,508 annually to $215,000;
- Court of Appeals judge salaries would go from $161,508 to $207,000;
- District judge salaries would go from $155,508 to $201,000;
- Magistrate judge salaries would go from $147,508 to $193,000.
“This adjustment would move Idaho closer to the median nationwide for judicial pay, rather than leaving us where we are now near the bottom,” Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan said Thursday at a press conference at the Idaho Supreme Court building.
Among the reasons for the request for raises were to attract and retain qualified judges, address Idaho’s low judicial pay compared to other states, maintain the quality of the judiciary and respond to the increased caseloads and demands on the courts in one of the fastest-growing states in the country.
In addition, the Supreme Court is proposing a significant change in how judicial salaries are set, calling for a new, independent salary committee, patterned after the panel that sets legislative salaries.
Political wrangling in Legislature
Currently, the Idaho Legislature sets judicial salaries, and those salaries have been the subject of political wrangling the past couple of sessions.
In 2022, the Legislature passed House Bill 782, which would have drastically changed the makeup of the Idaho Judicial Council, which nominates candidates for judge seats.
Tucked into that bill was a provision to raise the salaries of judges.
Gov. Brad Little vetoed House Bill 782, saying he agreed with the need to modernize the Idaho Judicial Council but added that the changes needed to be more thoroughly vetted by all relevant stakeholders.
And since the governor vetoed the changes to the Idaho Judicial Council, that meant he also vetoed the pay raises for judges, and the Legislature subsequently failed to pass a separate bill to raise judges’ salaries.
At the same time, the Legislature approved 7% cost-of-living pay increases to most state employees.
In the 2023 session, legislators approved a pay increase for judges, boosting pay for Supreme Court Justices by 3%, while all other state employees got 4%. Court of Appeals judges received a 4.5% increase, district judges got 4.7% and magistrate judges got 8.2%.
Judicial salaries rank near the bottom
Even with those increases, Idaho’s salaries for judges still rank low in the nation and even the region, Bevan said.
“This year, Idaho’s district judges ranked 48th in judicial pay,” Bevan said. “Among neighboring states, only one pays its judges less, while most paid their judges 10% to 40% more.”
A Supreme Court justice in Utah, for example, makes $235,300. The only neighboring state that pays a Supreme Court justice less is Montana, but that salary will go up to $173,759 this year.
A district judge in Idaho makes $155,508, while Wyoming pays district judges $171,200 and Utah pays $213,900.
While $155,508 for a district judge may seem like a lot, especially in a state where the median household income is about $75,000, Bevan said lawyers in the private sector can make more — a lot more.
Bevan said the proposed salaries are based on a comprehensive market analysis, looking at not just private practice salaries, but also what public sector attorneys are making in Idaho and the surrounding states.
Salaries compared with attorney salaries
An annual salary of $155,508 equates to $77.76 per hour for a 40-hour work week.
“I think it’s also important to take a step back and think about who our friends down the street (Idaho legislators) hired to represent them in this courtroom behind me,” Bevan said. “Those lawyers probably are making three, four, five times what a judge in Idaho makes.”
The Idaho Press reported in 2021 that one private attorney working for the state typically billed $470 per hour.
‘On a bit of a precipice’
Without the ability to pay judges more, it’s becoming more difficult to recruit and retain judges, Bevan said.
“We’re on a bit of a precipice in maintaining our judicial quality and excellence,” he said, adding that more judges are retiring early.
The average tenure of district judges has decreased from more than 17 years to just under 7 years.
“We’re seeing more and more people who are not seeing a judicial career as the pinnacle of a wonderful legal career, but merely a stopping-off point and to something better, to move to a different position,” Bevan said.
Meanwhile, the number of applicants for district court vacancies has declined significantly, from an average of 11 applicants five years ago to just 4.6 applicants last year, Bevan said. And when you consider that the Judicial Council must recommend three candidates, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room.
Bevan also noted a decline in the percentage of applicants with private practice experience, from 37% a decade ago to just 21% last year.
In addition to the salary increases and the new independent salaries committee, the Supreme Court is asking for four new judgeships to alleviate increasing caseloads and reduce the reliance on traveling judges. The court is asking for a new district judge and a new magistrate judge in Kootenai County; a new magistrate judge in Twin Falls County; and a new district judge and magistrate judge in Bonneville County.
In all, the proposals would add about $10 million to the state budget, Bevan said.
Big ask from judicial branch
This is a big ask. These raises represent a 27%-31% increase. I don’t know if those are the right levels, but Bevan is right that we want to attract the best and the brightest attorneys, and based on the numbers, it seems like Idaho is approaching crisis levels.
It would be better to raise salaries more incrementally than 30% all at once, but that would just mean Idaho falls further behind.
But something that’s a no-brainer is the independent judicial salaries committee, similar to the legislative salaries committee, which recently came up with a reasonable compromise on pay raises for lawmakers — which, by the way, fell in the 22% range.
It is important to take judicial salaries out of the political process and out of the hands of legislators who might have an ax to grind against the judiciary.
Former Idaho Attorney General and Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Jones has cited the scathing 2021 Idaho Supreme Court ruling against the Legislature’s ill-advised law that would have made it nearly impossible to get a citizens initiative on the ballot as the impetus for the political fighting over the Idaho Judicial Council and judicial salaries.
The timing certainly matches up.
Bevan said he has felt the judiciary has always had the support of the public, the legislature and the governor.
“Sometimes I think we need to just step back and say, ‘OK, it’s time now to make a significant change,’” Bevan said. “And now is the time to support our judges, to get the best and the brightest onto the bench, and support those who are already there to keep them functioning.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 12:54 PM.
