Wednesday letters: Judges are motivated by service, not money

A Senate-passed budget proposal will give S.C. judges, solicitors and public defenders an 11 percent pay raise. Chief Justice Jean Toal initially asked for larger raises, telling senators that raises are “necessary to attract talented lawyers” to “accept judicial service” and “feel they can still accept this vocation and still raise a family and send their children to college.”

Is there any evidence that present judges, solicitors and public defenders and those who have recently sought to become judges, solicitors and public defenders in South Carolina are not talented and competent?

Is there any evidence that a salary of $136,905 for Circuit Court judges is not adequate for raising a family and sending children to college? The State notes that South Carolina ranks 37th in the nation for Supreme Court salaries. Adjusted for cost of living, we rank 23rd for trial court judges. To put those figures in perspective, South Carolina’s median household income of $44,163 in 2013 ranks 45th, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. S.C. judges are doing well economically relative to judges throughout the country when compared to how S.C. families are doing compared to families throughout the country.

Yes, skilled lawyers can often make more money than judges (though a recent study published in the George Washington Law Review found that “lawyers in public-service jobs who made the least money, like public defenders or Legal Aid attorneys, were most likely to report being happy,” not the high-income lawyers). I imagine that many S.C. judges (as well as solicitors and public defenders) and those who seek those positions are greatly motivated by the opportunity to serve their state and do challenging and meaningful legal work.

Columbia