Paying for quality

We understand how many people would roll their eyes if they heard about a proposal to give raises to people who already command six-figure salaries.

But this proposal is different -- and crucial. It's about Georgia's judges.

A judgeship is an important pinnacle of achievement for someone who practices law. But increasingly, the prestige and authority that come with the black robe run secondary to the almighty dollar.

Georgia's citizens need the best legal minds on the bench, but the financial incentives to keep them on the bench aren't there. The state's superior and appellate judges haven't had a salary raise in nine years. Meanwhile, the private sector is offering more lucrative avenues of pursuit for lawyers.

The base annual salary of a superior court judge is $120,252. Sounds great, right? Not when you learn that a first-year associate at an Atlanta law firm can average $145,000 a year.

In most metro areas of Georgia, a lawyer with five to eight years of private-practice experience under his belt typically pulls down more money than a superior court judge in the same areas.

The exception is Augusta. Thanks in part to the salary supplement offered by the municipal governments in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, our superior court judges are the state's highest-paid on average.

But the rest of the state isn't so lucky. Some judicial circuits offer supplements, but others don't. Lawyers with the keen wits to make excellent judges also are canny enough to realize that they can make more money by staying in private practice, or even returning to law school as professors. A full professor at a law school in Georgia makes more money on average than an Atlanta superior court judge who receives a salary supplement. Shameful.

Legislation in the Georgia General Assembly this year proposes a 20-percent raise in salary for superior court, appellate and state Supreme Court judges. We think 5 or 10 percent would be more prudent. But if the judicial system is to stay competitive with the private sector, the financial incentive has to be there to assure that we get quality judges dispensing sound justice for our citizens.

It boils down to whether the state is willing to pay for quality. Georgia needs top talent on the bench, and it must find the money to secure that talent.