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Cappy-sized: Judge wrong to craft, support legislation

4 min read

It’s not surprising that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court chief justice has taken pen in hand, carving time in what’s billed as an otherwise jam-packed judicial schedule to defend the most recent round of pay raises for high-ranking state officials. But when the Commonwealth’s top jurist takes such a stand – and in fact is credited with concocting the idea of linking state salaries to those of comparable federal officials – we question his wisdom and impartiality.

No doubt Ralph J. Cappy hopes to blow away some of the stench the public is smelling over the size of the increases and the secretive way they were carried out. But hey, if your name is Cappy and your salary just got a 14 percent boost, from $154,448 to $176,800, the least you can do is praise the courage and foresight of the legislators and governor who’ve stuffed some additional long green in your pocket. It doesn’t even cost you anything to ship your defensive missive to media throughout the Commonwealth; the taxpayer picks up the cost of the embossed letterhead, envelope and even the stamp.

Problem is, the average Joe or Jolene doesn’t have such a financial Sugar Daddy to turn to in Harrisburg. If they did, they might be more inclined to pull a Cappy, throwing themselves in front of the proverbial train of public backlash.

Cappy’s two-page unofficial opinion, published in its entirety on this page last week, contains some predictable mantras: Gov. Ed Rendell and the legislature are “fine individuals” who should not be denigrated, criticism of them and the new salary plan is “unfair, superficial and shortsighted,” boosting the pay rates will “ensure that our best and brightest are able and willing to serve,” and the judicial increases in particular were “desperately needed.”

Let’s see, which underpaid group might he be talking about? Magisterial district judges, whose pay jumps 15 percent, from $64,669 to $74,566? We saw no shortage of qualified candidates for those jobs in Fayette County a few months ago; even at the lower rate, incumbents were squaring off against each other to hold onto their jobs in merged districts.

Might it be county Common Pleas Court judges, whose pay went up 14 percent, from a range of $131,000-$134,000 to $149,132? Again, those openings have never been too hard to fill, and in fact are some of the more hotly contested races whenever a seat opens up.

And while we’re at it, don’t forget the state legislature, where rank-and-file members got a 16 percent boost from $69,647 to $81,050, where committee chairman pay vaulted 28 percent to $89,155, and where majority and minority party leaders (like our own Rep. Bill DeWeese) got a 34 percent boost from $100,911 to $134,771. Last year no fewer than three independents and one Republican, all qualified, lined up for a crack at the seat of state Rep. Larry Roberts (D-South Union), each of them apparently willing to work for the old rate.

What Cappy and other entrenched politicians – and that’s what judges are because they were elected into those positions – fail to realize in the overall scheme of things is that none of them are irreplaceable. His op-ed piece mentions that because of the current low compensation “valued jurists had either left state service or were known to be considering other employment options, including work in private practice, academia, or a position on the federal bench.”

So what? As long as a capable replacement, and in a nation of 1 million attorneys there are many, rose through the ranks or sought the office, justice would still be served. And despite the higher pay, many judges would no doubt still bolt for a federal bench seat, because of prestige or still-higher salary, or take a cushy professorship in academia to cruise into retirement.

Although textbooks state that we have three independent branches of government – executive, legislative and judiciary – Cappy’s role as point man on the pay raise plan undermines that concept. Rendell, in his own op-ed piece, states: “This legislation, particularly the concept of linking state salaries to a percentage of those paid equivalent federal officials, emanated from an idea put forth by our fine Supreme Court Chief Justice Ralph Cappy. It was a very good suggestion.”

Wait a minute – a judge who may at some point be called upon to rule on the constitutionality of any piece of legislation, including this one, is being hailed as the man behind the concept? Plenty is wrong with that picture, and it provides much not-so-circumstantial evidence that our judiciary isn’t quite as independent as you might think.

If Cappy wants to make laws or influence their passage, on pay raises or any other matter, he should run for a different office. He shouldn’t be crafting legislation from the bench.

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