N.Y. Appeals Court Orders Pay Raise for Judges

A New York appeals court has ordered state legislators to give judges a pay increase of about 30 percent to reflect the increased cost of living since their last raise in 1998.

The Appellate Division, 1st Department, said the legislature violated separation of powers by linking judicial raises to the "whims and caprices" of politicians unwilling to raise their own pay, the New York Law Journal reports. The court gave lawmakers 90 days to act.

New York’s highest court will likely have the last word on the issue, the story says. The case, Larabee v. Governor, is one of three suits filed in an effort to force a pay raise for judges.