Raised Eyebrows in Pa. as Judge, Judge-Elect Hire Wives as Secretaries
A judge and judge-elect in Montgomery County, Pa., have created a stir, but haven’t broken any nepotism rules by hiring their wives to serve as their secretaries.
The positions pay $52,721 a year.
According to a Philadelphia Inquirer story on the hiring, Judge-elect Gary Silow hired his wife to start the new job when he takes office Jan. 4. And Judge Paul Tressler, who retires next year, has promoted his wife to secretary from crier, which means a $13,000 pay boost.
“My wife has been my secretary and my paralegal for 20 years, and she is extremely competent,” Silow told the Inquirer.
The paper notes that federal judges are barred from hiring relatives and notes that the ABA frowns on the practice with a model code [see Canon 3] that says judges “shall avoid nepotism” when it comes to hiring and appointments.
In Pennsylvania, however, nepotism in the courts isn’t unusual largely because of a gray area in state code. While county employees are subject to anti-nepotism policies, state employees, including county judges, are not, the paper reports.
