There have been various complaints, not just from judges, about federal judicial salaries. An interesting discussion in part excerpted some choice remarks:
In exchange for accepting their relatively modest salaries, federal judges receive the benefits of life tenure, retirement at full pay, and freedom from the endless pressures of hourly billing, business development, client demands, liability exposure and intrafirm intrigues -- not to mention the prestige of high office and the satisfaction of dispensing justice. Meanwhile, practicing lawyers report extraordinary levels of job dissatisfaction, sometimes bordering on outright despair. Those high salaries come at an equally high cost, exacting their toll in time and stress . . . As a purely empirical matter, there is no pressing need to increase judicial salaries in order to attract or retain first-rate judges.
We are also linked to a discussion suggesting that in some cases higher judicial salaries would perhaps help lower court judges to feel more respected, leading to more loyalty to appellate law. Or something. Anyway, those intangibles suggest this is not just about pay. Consider the older judge -- many regular law sorts might not have such job security in their golden years. And, if the job gets too tedious -- a real possibility for lower court judges -- there are charming retirement packages. Don't cry for me Argentina, I say.
Meanwhile, on the Hamdan/Military Commission Act front, the most recent briefs are worthwhile reading. For instance, there is the "bill of attainder" issue of "unlawful enemy combatants" (basically a fake term pursuant to Geneva etc. -- it's either POW or civilian, who might be an "enemy" pursuant to a proper trial) basically being found guilty before trial, especially in respect to stripping of core habeas relief. It is not an all or nothing deal -- the fact they retain a smidgen of rights does not mean the badge of infamy is therefore suddenly legitimate. OTOH, habeas itself is sort of an all or nothing deal -- watered down does not quite cut it.
The amount of work put into these briefs, especially given who we are allegedly dealing with, is remarkable. An amicus brief from "four retired generals, two retired admirals and a retired Central Intelligence Agency officer"* on the matter of Geneva Convention particular is particularly notable. The "Interest of the Amici":
Amici are retired generals and admirals who have spent their careers commanding troops at home and overseas and protecting the nation from attack, and a retired intelligence officer who ran the CIA's covert operations in Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation. Amici have extensive experience dealing with issues relating to the Geneva Conventions and armed conflict, and more than 200 years of combined service in the military and intelligence branches. Some of the amici filed a brief in this matter in September 2004 urging that the Court ensure that Respondents afford Petitioner the protections of the Geneva Conventions. (Dkt. 25.) The Court did so, and the Supreme Court upheld the Court's decision.
Finally, especially since an important race based secondary school case is in front of the Supremes this term, this discussion of continual failure to honor the principles of Brown is as timely as it is important. Likewise, there is a clear local angle, including continual attempts to determine the best way to settle a New York school funding case, one based on state constitution obligations.
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* "GENERAL MERRILL A. MCPEAK (ret.), MILT BEARDEN, REAR ADMIRAL DONALD J. GUTER (ret.), REAR ADMIRAL JOHN D. HUTSON (ret.), BRIGADIER GENERAL DAVID M. BRAHMS (ret.), BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES P. CULLEN (ret.), BRIGADIER GENERAL RICHARD O'MEARA (ret.)." Bearden's quickie c.v.:
SIS Level 5, retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 1994 after 30 years of service as an intelligence officer. Mr. Bearden ran the CIA's covert operations in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, and he helped train Afghan freedom fighters. During his career, Mr. Bearden was station chief in Pakistan, Nigeria, Germany, and the Sudan, and he was chief of the CIA's Soviet-East European Division during the last days of the Soviet Union. Mr. Bearden received the CIA's highest honor, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, and is the author of The Main Enemy, a book about the CIA-KGB spy wars.
Bunch of lib tree huggers!