Laid-Off New York Judges Volunteering Their Services

Laid-off judges volunteering their services
The New York Post by Dareh Gregorian  -  May 30, 2011

Now that's dedication! Dozens of retired judges-turned-court referees who were laid off because of budget cuts are staying on the job for free. The state Office of Court Administration says at least 65 of the 300 judicial hearing officers (JHOs) who were let go earlier this year are staying on as volunteers. "We're very pleased about it," said Judge Lawrence Marks, OCA's administrative director. But he said he was not surprised. "Retired judges enjoy handling cases, and I think there's a real spirit of public service," Marks said. The JHOs have become an invaluable resource for judges around the state, hearing arguments on restraining orders, admissibility of evidence and fees, and helping with jury selection, freeing overburdened jurists to focus more on their cases.  The JHOs, mostly judges who were forced to hang up their robes after hitting the mandatory retirement age of 70, had been making $300 a day, far less than the average judicial salary of $140,000 a year. "The problem this year is we don't have money to pay them," Marks said. He credited one of the JHOs, retired Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Stanley Sklar, 79, with inspiring more than 60 of his colleagues, through his own volunteering, to do the same.   "I am absolutely delighted that that there are other JHOs that are volunteering," Sklar told the New York Law Journal. "We are performing a service.  "The courts are under stress. They are losing or have lost so many clerical personnel. This is just something to help the judges deal with the case loads."  dareh.gregorian@nypost.com