My Sport, My Shadow and My Clone is a Big 10 today. RP is the name a famous Uncle had and he reminds me of it now and again...So Happy Bday my Little Man....Your Daddy will always be your Caddy..Yours in the Bond
Thursday, March 5, 2009
My Tiger is Double Digits Today!!!!!
My Sport, My Shadow and My Clone is a Big 10 today. RP is the name a famous Uncle had and he reminds me of it now and again...So Happy Bday my Little Man....Your Daddy will always be your Caddy..
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Paycut for Folks Making over $100K on State Payroll
Treasure Coast courts have 42 officials earning $100,000-plus
By George Andreassi
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Treasure Coast court system has 42 judges, prosecutors, investigators, public defenders and administrators who are paid more than $100,000 per year.
Circuit judges, who preside over major criminal and civil cases, are paid $145,080 per year under a state salary scale that went into effect Oct. 1, 2006. That makes Florida's circuit judges the 11th highest paid trial judges in the nation, according to a 2008 survey by the National Center for State Courts.
But the pay of Florida's circuit judges would slide down to 17th place nationwide if the state government enacts a Senate bill calling for all state employees earning more than $100,000 per year to take a 5 percent pay cut.
Some lawyers and judges said a $7,254 per year pay cut, combined with the increasing case load, could push some veteran jurists back into more lucrative private practice and prevent top lawyers from aspiring to the bench.
"If they're talking about pay cuts in Tallahassee, that is adding insult to injury," said 19th Circuit Chief Judge William Roby. "Our judges are working their tails off."
"A judge making $145,000 a year more than likely would be making twice that at a medium-sized law firm in private practice," Roby said. "At some point in time, if we don't get pay raises or relief, practical aspects are going to start kicking in and judges are going to be leaving the profession."
But Roby said the judges aren't asking for a raise until the economy improves.
State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, said no one is immune from the fallout from the state's budget crisis, including judges.
"We think that judges do very good work, but like anybody else in this weak economy we need to look at everything," Haridopolos said.
"$145,000 to most folks is a lot of money," Haridopolos said "I think that clearly in the private practice of law there is the likelihood to make even more money, but I think (judges) are willing to give back to their community."
Despite the long hours and relatively modest pay, the prestige of a judgeship and the opportunity to serve the public will likely continue to compel many top lawyers to aspire to the bench, Roby and others said.
"There are intangible benefits to being a judge, like your first name becomes 'Judge,' " said State Rep. Adam Fetterman, D-Port St. Lucie, who earned $112,634 last year as general counsel for the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. "There's a certain respect that goes with somebody who sits on the bench."
SIX-FIGURE SALARIES
19th CIRCUIT: Serves Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties
CIRCUIT JUDGES: $145,080 per year salary
William Roby, chief judge
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Robert Hawley, Paul Kanarek, Robert Pegg, Cynthia Cox
MARTIN COUNTY
Gary Sweet, Steven Levin, Robert Makemson, Elizabeth Metzger, Sherwood Bauer Jr.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Barbara Bronis, Larry Schack, Dan Vaughn, James McCann, Burton Conner, Robert Belanger, Dwight Geiger
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
F. Shields McManus, Lawrence Mirman
COUNTY JUDGES: $137,020 per year salary
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
David Morgan, Joe Wild
MARTIN COUNTY
David Harper, Stewart Hershey, Kathleen Roberts
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Cliff Barnes, Kathryn Nelson, Philip Yacucci Jr., Thomas Walsh
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
Jerald Bryant
STATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE: 150 employees
$153,140: Bruce Colton, state attorney
$147,877: Thomas Bakkedahl, chief assistant state attorney
$119,814: Nita Denton, attorney-in-charge, Martin County/Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, education coordinator
$117,838: Bernard Romero, assistant state attorney, major crimes
$116,286: Bruce Harrison, attorney-in-charge, St. Lucie County
$115,900: Patrick Gillen, assistant state attorney, felony appeals
$110,428: Pamela Robuck, assistant state attorney, Martin County Juvenile/Drug Court and Mental Health Court coordinator
$107,019: Linda Craft, assistant state attorney, major crimes/sex crimes and Jimmy Ryce Division
$105,728: Nora Pfeiffer, chief investigator
PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE: 80 employees
$153,140: Diamond Litty, public defender
$146,163: Mark V. Harllee, chief assistant public defender
$118,277: John Hetherington, assistant public defender/head attorney of Stuart office
$107,151: Patricia Armold, [Lau: CQ ]administrative director/budget analyst
ON THE WEB
19th Judicial Circuit: http://www.circuit19.org
19th Circuit State Attorney's Office: http://www.sao19.org
19th Circuit Public Defender's Office: http://www.pd19.org
Martin County Bar Association: http://www.martincountybar.org
St. Lucie County Bar Association: http://www.slcba.org
Indian River County Bar Association: http://www.irclaw.org
Florida Bar Association: http://www.floridabar.org
Florida Conference of Circuit Judges: http://www.flcircuitconference.com
Council of County Court Judges of Florida: http://www.countyjudges.com
National Center for State Courts; state judge salary survey: http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/Salary_Survey/home.asp
© 2009 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
By George Andreassi
Monday, March 2, 2009
The Treasure Coast court system has 42 judges, prosecutors, investigators, public defenders and administrators who are paid more than $100,000 per year.
Circuit judges, who preside over major criminal and civil cases, are paid $145,080 per year under a state salary scale that went into effect Oct. 1, 2006. That makes Florida's circuit judges the 11th highest paid trial judges in the nation, according to a 2008 survey by the National Center for State Courts.
But the pay of Florida's circuit judges would slide down to 17th place nationwide if the state government enacts a Senate bill calling for all state employees earning more than $100,000 per year to take a 5 percent pay cut.
Some lawyers and judges said a $7,254 per year pay cut, combined with the increasing case load, could push some veteran jurists back into more lucrative private practice and prevent top lawyers from aspiring to the bench.
"If they're talking about pay cuts in Tallahassee, that is adding insult to injury," said 19th Circuit Chief Judge William Roby. "Our judges are working their tails off."
"A judge making $145,000 a year more than likely would be making twice that at a medium-sized law firm in private practice," Roby said. "At some point in time, if we don't get pay raises or relief, practical aspects are going to start kicking in and judges are going to be leaving the profession."
But Roby said the judges aren't asking for a raise until the economy improves.
State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, said no one is immune from the fallout from the state's budget crisis, including judges.
"We think that judges do very good work, but like anybody else in this weak economy we need to look at everything," Haridopolos said.
"$145,000 to most folks is a lot of money," Haridopolos said "I think that clearly in the private practice of law there is the likelihood to make even more money, but I think (judges) are willing to give back to their community."
Despite the long hours and relatively modest pay, the prestige of a judgeship and the opportunity to serve the public will likely continue to compel many top lawyers to aspire to the bench, Roby and others said.
"There are intangible benefits to being a judge, like your first name becomes 'Judge,' " said State Rep. Adam Fetterman, D-Port St. Lucie, who earned $112,634 last year as general counsel for the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. "There's a certain respect that goes with somebody who sits on the bench."
SIX-FIGURE SALARIES
19th CIRCUIT: Serves Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties
CIRCUIT JUDGES: $145,080 per year salary
William Roby, chief judge
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
Robert Hawley, Paul Kanarek, Robert Pegg, Cynthia Cox
MARTIN COUNTY
Gary Sweet, Steven Levin, Robert Makemson, Elizabeth Metzger, Sherwood Bauer Jr.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Barbara Bronis, Larry Schack, Dan Vaughn, James McCann, Burton Conner, Robert Belanger, Dwight Geiger
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
F. Shields McManus, Lawrence Mirman
COUNTY JUDGES: $137,020 per year salary
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY
David Morgan, Joe Wild
MARTIN COUNTY
David Harper, Stewart Hershey, Kathleen Roberts
ST. LUCIE COUNTY
Cliff Barnes, Kathryn Nelson, Philip Yacucci Jr., Thomas Walsh
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY
Jerald Bryant
STATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE: 150 employees
$153,140: Bruce Colton, state attorney
$147,877: Thomas Bakkedahl, chief assistant state attorney
$119,814: Nita Denton, attorney-in-charge, Martin County/Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, education coordinator
$117,838: Bernard Romero, assistant state attorney, major crimes
$116,286: Bruce Harrison, attorney-in-charge, St. Lucie County
$115,900: Patrick Gillen, assistant state attorney, felony appeals
$110,428: Pamela Robuck, assistant state attorney, Martin County Juvenile/Drug Court and Mental Health Court coordinator
$107,019: Linda Craft, assistant state attorney, major crimes/sex crimes and Jimmy Ryce Division
$105,728: Nora Pfeiffer, chief investigator
PUBLIC DEFENDERS OFFICE: 80 employees
$153,140: Diamond Litty, public defender
$146,163: Mark V. Harllee, chief assistant public defender
$118,277: John Hetherington, assistant public defender/head attorney of Stuart office
$107,151: Patricia Armold, [Lau: CQ ]administrative director/budget analyst
ON THE WEB
19th Judicial Circuit: http://www.circuit19.org
19th Circuit State Attorney's Office: http://www.sao19.org
19th Circuit Public Defender's Office: http://www.pd19.org
Martin County Bar Association: http://www.martincountybar.org
St. Lucie County Bar Association: http://www.slcba.org
Indian River County Bar Association: http://www.irclaw.org
Florida Bar Association: http://www.floridabar.org
Florida Conference of Circuit Judges: http://www.flcircuitconference.com
Council of County Court Judges of Florida: http://www.countyjudges.com
National Center for State Courts; state judge salary survey: http://www.ncsconline.org/D_KIS/Salary_Survey/home.asp
© 2009 Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers
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