High court budget request outrages lawmakers

Thursday, March 8, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY - A legislative budget subcommittee has sent the Nevada Supreme Court packing after it asked for an increase of more than 38 percent in its spending for the next two years.

Characterizing the requested increase as horrendous, Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, chairwoman of the subcommittee, told Chief Justice Bill Maupin, "If we give everybody a 38 percent increase, we would be bankrupt."

Sen. Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, said that under the pay raises proposed in the budget request, District Court judges in 2009 would be the highest-paid in the nation and the Supreme Court justices third-highest.

District Court judges' pay would increase from $130,000 to $169,000 , and Supreme Court judges' pay would grow from $140,000 to $182,000 .

In each case, the salaries would have more than doubled since 1991.

Those increases would take effect in January 2009 and could not be raised again until 2015. Elected officials can't receive pay raises in the middle of their terms.

McClain told Maupin to return in two weeks with a revised budget request that shows spending priorities and possible cuts.

Maupin defended the budget, saying it represented less than 1 percent of the executive budget. He said the increased court staff has reduced the backlog of cases from more than 2,500 to 1,400 .

The chief justice said the civil cases coming to the court are more complex and he wants to shorten the time these cases are on appeal. Death penalty cases take longer to decide.

The budget request before the Senate-Assembly subcommittee on general government seeks 22 additional court employees.

Maupin said salary increases would attract private attorneys and public service lawyers to run for the judiciary - and persuade some judges near retirement to stick around.

The salary recommendations came from a task force appointed by former Gov. Kenny Guinn.