This is getting really embarrassing.  Now that her last 5 ultimatums have been ignored, Chief Judge Judy Kaye has shifted gears and is now trying to horse-trade her way to a judicial pay raise, according to the New York Lawyer.  I mean, seriously, what happened to dignity?

Her latest gambit is to back off retroactivity to 2005 and tie the pay for New York judges to their federal counterparts.

A new judicial pay raise proposal offered yesterday by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye would surrender some ground on retroactivity while tying future increases to salaries and cost-of-living adjustments given to federal judges.

Did I miss something?  Was this the problem that stymied the New York legislative process?  I don’t think so.  If memory serves me (a stretch, I concede, but that’s why I put so much in writing), the issue here has nothing to do with judges.  Everyone agrees that judges should get a raise.  That’s not the problem.  The problem is that legislators want a raise too, and the public will have them high if they give it to themselves because, well, they don’t do much of anything worthy of a raise.  And so, by tying their raise to judicial raises, they want to sneak in the back door.  In other words, you can’t get one if they can’t, and they can’t, so you won’t.

This is where too much time on the bench is getting in your way.  Judge Judy, you’ve forgotten some of the basic rules of negotiation.  Rule number 1, don’t negotiate against yourself.  They haven’t put a dime on the table for judges, even though you’ve been pushing this raise thing for years now.  There’s been no argument that they would give judges raises if only you were more reasonable.  So why give ground?  It’s not going to get you a raise, but it will cut down the negotiating room when it finally comes on the table.

It will happen.  Eventually.  Maybe not in your life time, but eventually.  Remember, it tok 17 years to increase 18b rates above $25 out of court, and the judiciary didn’t get too bent out of shape about that.  Your day will come.

What?  You can’t wait that long?  Bummer.   Okay, let’s figure out how to speed this process up a tad.  Have you considered putting on a charity event where judges across the state can be auctioned off?  How about adopt a judge’s kid and put her through college?  True, this won’t be particularly dignified, but to tell you the truth, neither is your latest salvo, following upon your last ultimatum, following upon you threat to sue, retraction of threat to sue, and embarrassing the handful of judges who have tried to do something about it despite their not sticking with your program.  Could it be that they don’t think you’re approach is very effective? Could it be that you obviously don’t think your approach is very effective either, judging from your shifting positions every couple of weeks?

It was one thing to have some fun with judges in the beginning, giving you a bit of “the business” to remind you that the judiciary couldn’t have cared less about us ordinary lawyers feeding our kiddies when the shoe was on the other foot.  Hopefully, you learned something.  But this has gone on too long, and frankly, is just demeaning.  When the judiciary looks bad, it makes all of us look foolish.  I don’t want to look foolish.  Do you?  Time to stop putting out press releases, take matters into your own hands (you are the judges, you know) and come up with a well-conceived and effective plan to put this puppy to rest.

Aside to Kathryn Grant Madigan, president of the New York State Bar Association:  Would you please stop sending me letters asking me to pay my dues. 

Our biggest concern is that if this doesn’t happen in the relative near term, this could have to wait until after the fall elections,” Ms. Madigan said

This may be your biggest concern, you suck-up, but it is NOT my biggest concern.  The judges will have to wait until after the next election to get a raise?  And this impacts my life how?  We all agree that judges need a raise, but I will not weep for fear that judges may have to darn their robes lest they sit on the bench naked. 

For 25 years, I’ve waited for the NYSBA to do something, anything, for the private criminal defense bar.  The only time you love me is when you want me to pay my dues.  Enough with the platitudes and the noblesse oblige crap.  If you want my money, do something for it.  I’m tired of contributing to an association that has never done a thing for the solo private criminal defense bar.  Get your dues from someone else and leave me alone.