Salary Boost for New York Judges Seen as Boon for Diversity

Judges across New York State are expected to get their first raises in nearly five years, which will bring their pay to par with the federal judiciary and potentially bolster efforts to increase diversity on the bench.

State Supreme Court judges will be paid $232,600, the same as US District Court judges. The salaries of all other judges, including appellate and administrative justices, will be adjusted “to reflect their present proportion to the salary of State Supreme Court Justices,” according to the compensation plan approved by members of the New York State Commission on Legislative, Judicial, & Executive Compensation.

The plan will be sent to Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, and the heads of the state Senate and Assembly. Unless it is is rejected by the legislature, it will take effect in April.

All judges will receive a 2% salary increase in April 2026, but there will not be raises in 2025 and 2027. Appellate and Court of Appeals judges make more than state Supreme Court judges, while New York City judges make 5% to 7% less.

Diversifying the Bench

Pay parity is critical for attracting a diverse talent pool, current and former judges said—especially for groups underrepresented on the bench like Latinos and Asian American Pacific Islanders.

It is especially important for people who are first-generation and have a lot of student debt, according to 1st Appellate Department Associate Justice Anil Singh.

“That impacts choices that people make in terms of what they’re going to do with their lives once they leave law school,” said Singh, who in 2017 became the first South Asian person to sit on an appellate court in New York State.

First-generation judges like Rolando Acosta, former presiding justice of the 1st Appellate Department, also often help support their family members. Acosta, who spent more than 25 years as a judge, is now in private practice.

“I still have members of my family under the poverty line that I have to help and work with, and I don’t come from wealth. I don’t come from privilege,” Acosta said.

Asian American and Pacific Islanders comprise one of the fastest-growing communities in New York State. From 2010 to 2020, the Asian population increased nearly 38%, and the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population rose 11.4%, according to the US Census.

Sixty-one of the 3,400 judges in New York—including town and village justices—identify as AAPI, said Supervising Judge Shahabuddeen Ally of the New York County Civil Court.

Hispanics and Latinos comprise nearly 20% of the state population but comprised just 10% of the statewide judiciary in 2022. That doesn’t include town and village justices, less than 1% of whom are Latino, 2nd Appellate Department Associate Justice Lourdes Ventura told members of the judicial compensation commission during its Oct. 31 public hearing.

Morale Boost

It would have been “disastrous” to the morale of the judiciary had the raises not been approved this year, said Ally, who is president of the Asian American Judges Association of New York.

Singh recalls a sense of fatigue on the bench early in his career as a judge when there hadn’t been raises for more than a decade.

“The judiciary felt it was put upon, the facilities were not good and all that. So I think for morale’s sake, it’s important. There’s a recognition that we do important work just like our federal counterparts and it’s appropriate to be paid commensurate with the work we do,” Singh said.

The judicial compensation commission currently conducts a salary review every four years, but New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis said the association would support an annual salary review so judges can get regular standard-of-living increases and ensure they’re “appreciated for the valuable work they do.”

“I’m not suggesting that the judiciary is poorly paid, but I’m going to suggest they’re not keeping up,” Lewis said. “We need to have a regular review of judicial salaries.”