Gov. Paterson Seeks Reversal of Judges' Pay Order

Paterson Seeks Reversal of Order to Boost Judges' Pay
The New York Law Journal by Dan Wise - September 25, 2008

Governor David A. Paterson yesterday filed his brief in the Appellate Division, First Department, asking for the reversal of an order requiring that judges' salaries be boosted to reflect the rise in the cost of living since 1999. In June, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Edward H. Lehner (See Profile) ruled that a raise is required because the legislative and executive branches had violated the separation of powers doctrine by linking a raise to unrelated issues, such as a raise for lawmakers or campaign finance reform (NYLJ, June 11). In Mr. Paterson's brief, his lawyer, Richard H. Dolan, attacks Justice Lehner's ruling as creating "a wholly new Constitutional doctrine of forbidden 'linkage'" that is "as unworkable as it is baseless and unwise." The Attorney General's Office, which is representing the Assembly and Senate, did not submit a separate brief but instead endorsed the arguments advanced for the executive branch by Mr. Dolan of Schlam Stone & Dolan. Thomas Bezanson of Chadbourne & Parke, who represented the four plaintiff judges in Larabee v. Governor, 11201/07, said in an interview that "abandonment of linkage is an incredibly simple step to take" to comply with the state Constitution and "do the right thing" and provide the first raise for the state's 1,300 judges in nearly a decade. The judges' brief defending Justice Lehner's opinion granting them summary judgment on their separation of powers claim is due Oct. 24. The appeal will be argued during the week of Nov. 17. The First Department had stayed Justice Lehner's order, which required enactment of a raise within 90 days, but ordered the two sides to submit their briefs on an expedited schedule.