The chief justice presents an argument that travels from the slayings of one judge and family members of another to a plea for higher judicial salaries in Rhode Island.

01:00 AM EDT on Saturday, June 11, 2005

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank J. Williams yesterday portrayed the judiciary as under siege, citing physical attacks and political threats that have made national news, while also making a pitch for raises for Rhode Island judges.

Williams delivered a speech and Powerpoint presentation, "Killing Justice: The Judiciary Under Siege," as part of the Rhode Island Bar Association's annual meeting.

The address came four days after his Supreme Court colleagues dismissed a lawsuit that claimed Williams had forfeited the chief justice's job when he joined the federal military review panel that will hear appeals from terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Williams began by joking that there had been three significant events over the past year: "The Red Sox won the World Series. The Patriots won the Super Bowl for the second year in a row. And I'm still here."

Williams said, "It seems the judiciary is under threat -- subject to an unrelenting barrage of verbal assaults, economic restraint, political stress and even physical attacks."

A large screen showed images and audio from news accounts of the March murder of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes in Atlanta, and the February murders of the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow in Chicago.

"It is perhaps a sign of the siege that just this week, in a small Kentucky courthouse, the judiciary installed bullet-resistant judge's benches along with panic buttons," Williams said.

Rhode Island is not insulated from physical threats, Williams said. "It takes only one envelope with a trace of white powder to remind us of our vulnerability," he said, in apparent reference to an incident last month in which Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl opened an envelope containing a white powder. Tests indicated the powder was not anthrax.

Williams said, "Political pressure and agenda-driven criticism also fray the fabric of judicial independence." And, he said, "the current trend is especially worrisome because the sentiments are being voiced not just by a powerless fringe but by those in positions of power."

He showed images of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, who made remarks widely deemed threatening about judges who refused to intervene in the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman. Also, Williams said U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, threatened to cut off court funding because of the Schiavo case by saying: "[When their] budget starts to dry up, we'll get their attention. We must get them in line."

Williams decried a "climate of harsh rhetoric," saying it makes it more difficult to build support and confidence in the judiciary.

"Here in Rhode Island, we are lucky enough to have a General Assembly which understands, respects and supports judicial independence and our separation of powers," Williams said, as the screen showed photos of House Speaker William J. Murphy and Senate President Joseph A. Montalbano.

He made no mention of Governor Carcieri, who has clashed with Williams over budgetary powers.

Williams segued into a call for higher salaries for state judges, saying, "Judicial independence faces yet another threat. This once comes quietly and from the rear flank. Simply put -- nationally and locally -- judicial salaries do not reflect the respect due the office. Judicial independence is endangered."

Last year, the General Assembly approved a budget article that prevented the governor from changing the judiciary's budget and gave Williams control over judicial salaries. This year, Williams proposed $1.57 million in pay raises for judges, magistrates and nonunion employees in the courts. Their salaries would increase by between 4 percent and 38 percent next year, and he's also seeking raises for 2007.

Williams said, "It is difficult for many in the judiciary to raise this topic because it feels unseemly to address issues which affect our own pocketbooks. Yet, the present circumstances demand that I and others speak up."

The proposal would raise Williams' base salary from $146,098 to $157,727 by January 2007. With longevity payments, his salary could grow from $153,403 to $173,499.

"While many of us became judges because of our desire to serve, I would be naive to suggest that salary differences do not matter," Williams said. "I am not suggesting that we match the pay of the private sector, but the large and growing disparity must be decreased."

Williams reiterated that when adjusted for the cost of living, judicial salaries in Rhode Island rank 43rd in the country. But when the figures are not adjusted, Rhode Island ranks 17th, ahead of all of New England except Connecticut, and Rhode Island judges receive longevity bonuses that add as much as 20 percent to their pay.

In an interview afterward, Williams acknowledged that judges receive benefits unavailable to private lawyers, such as lifetime tenure and state pensions. But he said many judges came to the profession later in life and gave up higher compensation to serve the public. He said salaries for state judges should be brought more in line with those of federal judges and magistrates, who handle fewer cases. "It's not like I don't have food on the table," he said. "But we [judges] haven't had raises in three years."