A panel of Manhattan appeals court justices nixed back pay for 1,300 state judges who claim 12 years of low salaries violated New York’s constitution.
Four judges, including Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Wright, whose brother is Assemblyman Keith Wright, sued in 2007 demanding a wage increase from a max of $136,700 to $165,000.
At the time they argued that their salaries, adjusted for cost of living, ranked 49th in the nation and hadn’t been adjusted since 1999.
They won a 27 percent bump from the governor starting in 2012, but then petitioned for retroactive damages.
Three members of a five-judge panel denied the request, saying budgetary issues should be decided by the legislature.
If judges could give themselves pay raises, that would violate the separation of powers doctrine, Jurist John Sweeny wrote in his concurring opinion.
“The judiciary, as a coequal branch of government, simply cannot constitutionally tell the legislature to appropriate or pay any amount of money for any specific purpose,” Sweeny ruled.
In her dissent, Manhattan Appellate Division Judge Helen Freedman said another Court of Appeals case allows the judiciary to award compensation.
The judges’ attorney, Thomas Bezanson, blasted the decision, promising to appeal to the state’s highest court.
“The majority opinion has it wrong in thinking courts are invading the prerogatives of the legislature. The state can pay damages just like anyone else can pay damages,” Bezanson said.