The American Board of Trial Advocates Supports Salary Increase for Federal Judges

    DALLAS, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Board of Trial Advocates,
 a national organization of preeminent trial lawyers, strongly supports a
 substantial increase in the salaries paid to federal judges.
     "A competent, highly qualified and fairly compensated federal judiciary
 is vital to preserving our justice system in the United States," said Lewis
 R. Sifford, ABOTA president. "Action by our government is long overdue, and
 further inaction threatens the foundation of our judicial systems as well
 as the fair administration of justice."
     ABOTA supports U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts' recent
 request for a substantial increase in judicial salaries, Sifford added. In
 his year-end report on the federal judiciary, Chief Justice Roberts
 described the compensation situation as reaching a crisis point and that
 judicial salaries have dropped below any reasonable measure of what is
 appropriate.
     ABOTA has urged Chairman Patrick J. Leahy of the Senate Committee on
 the Judiciary to take immediate steps to substantially increase judicial
 salaries and thereby preserve the integrity of an independent judiciary,
 according to Sifford. ABOTA believes that America's traditional jury
 system, both criminal and civil, is the one system of jurisprudence that
 guarantees necessary safeguards for the protection of person and property.
     Preserving the quality and independence of the judiciary has been a
 hallmark of ABOTA's efforts over the years. As early as 1997, ABOTA urged
 the restoration of compensation levels to the their past equivalence, in
 terms of real income, for justices and judges of the United States courts.
 ABOTA also recommended changing the procedure for adjusting future
 compensation. In 2000, ABOTA recommended that the U.S. Congress increase
 the funding of the judicial system and that there be increased salaries
 paid to those who serve as judges.
     Founded in 1958, ABOTA is a national association of experienced trial
 lawyers and judges. ABOTA and its members are dedicated to the preservation
 and promotion of the civil jury trial right provided by the 7th Amendment
 to the U.S. Constitution. The Foundation of ABOTA is an affiliated
 charitable entity, the mission of which is to support the purposes of ABOTA
 through education and research. ABOTA membership consists of more than
 6,300 lawyers and judges spread among 93 Chapters in all 50 States and the
 District of Columbia. ABOTA publishes Voir Dire magazine, which features
 in-depth articles on current and historical issues related to
 constitutional rights, in particular the 7th Amendment right to trial by
 jury.
     For more information contact:
     Brian Tyson at (800) 932-2682
     briant@abota.org
 
 

SOURCE American Board of Trial Advocates