Roberts on pay

[Scott Douglas Gerber]

I have compared Supreme Court justices to other judges, including lower 
federal court judges, in other places, including in the American 
Political Science Review.  I'll leave it to others to decide whether I 
did so "competently."

Prof. Cruz has worn me out with his name-calling, to which I have been 
subjected by him on other issues (affirmative action, for example), so 
I'll post no more on the issue in response to whatever posts he may 
submit about me.

Best wishes,
Scott


David Cruz wrote:


>I hope my colleagues on the listserv can forgive me for any unwarranted
>uncollegiality stemming from my frustration.  It is difficult to see how
>this can be much of a "discussion" when Professor Gerber refuses to
>address the substantive criticisms of his argument, which I have now
>twice proffered.  Judge Becker is just one of numerous federal judges I
>can point to with whom I have "interacted" who lead me to believe it a
>false generalization to claim that most (save the exceptional ones,
>apparently) federal judges "don't work very hard."
>
> 
>
>But even setting aside whether it is Gerber or I who has interacted with
>a more representative sample of federal judges, it remains the case that
>I have seen no defense of selecting the Supreme Court Justices - and in
>particular their very distinctive institutional characteristics that
>distinguish them from other federal judges - as the basis for an
>argument about the nature of the job of federal judging, simpliciter.
>That strikes me as a fundamentally dishonest, or at least irrational or
>incompetent if one presumes honest intent, method of argument to
>establish the proposition Gerber asserts.
>
> 
>
>So, I would urge my conlawprof colleagues not to make your judgments
>about whether federal judicial salaries should be increased on the basis
>of the unproven claim, dubiously defended, that they "don't work very
>hard."
>
> 
>
>As for Ed Hartnett's question about geographically variable judicial
>salaries, I don't know the answer, but it is interesting that at least
>up until a few years ago federal judicial clerks received geographic
>salary adjustments.  Are their dramatically lower salaries (compared to
>the judges) a full explanation of the difference in treatment?
>
> 
>
>David B. Cruz
>
>Professor of Law
>
>University of Southern California Gould School of Law
>
>Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
>
>U.S.A.
>
> 
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Scott Douglas Gerber [mailto:s-gerber at onu.edu] 
>Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 9:51 AM
>To: David Cruz
>Cc: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu; LAWCOURTS-L at usc.edu
>Subject: Roberts on pay
>
> 
>
>Prof. Cruz:
>
> 
>
>I disagree with what you say, and don't think your tone adds to the 
>
>discussion.  Just because you said something last year doesn't mean I 
>
>remembered it, or agreed with it even if I did.
>
> 
>
>Happy New Year,
>
>sdg
>
> 
>
> 
>
>David Cruz wrote:
>
> 
>
> 
>
>>There is a dramatic difference, in my opinion, which Professor Gerber
>
>>has graciously conceded my entitlement to express, between not being
>
>>"overworked," the phrase in Gerber's email in defense of his opinion
>
>>piece (below), and not "work[ing] very hard," the phrase Gerber
>actually
>
>>used in his piece.
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>>Moreover, the opinion piece did not indicate Gerber's personal
>
>>"interact[ions]" to be the basis for his assertion about federal
>judges'
>
>>work load/ work ethics; had it done so, a reader would have been in a
>
>>better position to question the representativeness of the evidence on
>
>>which Gerber relied.  Nor did the piece say, 'this is just my opinion.'
>
>>Instead, it argues, providing objective facts about the work load and
>
>>forms of assistance to a subset of federal judges who routinely sit in
>
>>larger panels than any others, who are entitled to more clerks than any
>
>>but Circuit Chief Judges, who preside over a generally more
>
>>experienced/talented bar (if Gerber is right on that point), and who
>
>>generally control their own docket, unlike other federal judges.  Yet
>
>>nowhere does Gerber disclose these significant differences to his
>
>>opinion piece readers.  It is therefore not bare assertion of "opinion"
>
>>('rum raisin ice cream is yucky') that I am criticizing, but misleading
>
>>argument, argument I can only infer is intentionally misleading since I
>
>>pointed all this out to Gerber the last time he published his similar
>
>>insulting claim that (most?) federal judges "don't work very hard."
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>>David B. Cruz
>
>> 
>
>>Professor of Law
>
>> 
>
>>University of Southern Gould School of Law
>
>> 
>
>>Los Angeles, CA 90089-0071
>
>> 
>
>>U.S.A.
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>
>>From: Scott Douglas Gerber [mailto:s-gerber at onu.edu] 
>
>>Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 9:14 AM
>
>>To: David Cruz
>
>>Cc: conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu; LAWCOURTS-L at usc.edu
>
>>Subject: Roberts on pay
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
>>There are exceptions to every rule, and perhaps the judge for whom 
>
>> 
>
>>David Cruz clerked was an exception.  The non-Supreme Court federal 
>
>> 
>
>>judges with whom I have interacted don't seem overworked to me, at 
>
>> 
>
>>least when compared to the millions of Americans who work far harder 
>
>> 
>
>>for much less pay.  I'm entitled to state my opinion in an opinion 
>
>> 
>
>>piece (the periodical thought highly enough of it to reprint it), and 
>
>> 
>
>>Prof. Cruz is entitled to disagree.
>
>> 
>
>>sdg
>
>> 
>
>> 
>
> 
>
> 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 
>
> 
>
>_______________________________________________
>
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>
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>> 
>
>>Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as 
>
>private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are 
>
>posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly 
>
>or wrongly) forward the messages to others.
>
> 
>
>--------------------------------------
>
> 
>
>Scott Gerber
>
>Law College
>
>Ohio Northern University
>
>Ada, OH 45810
>
>419-772-2219
>
>http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/gerber/
>
>


------------------------------------------------------------------------


_______________________________________________
>To post, send message to Conlawprof at lists.ucla.edu
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>
>Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as 
private.  Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are 
posted; people can read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly 
or wrongly) forward the messages to others.

--------------------------------------

Scott Gerber
Law College
Ohio Northern University
Ada, OH 45810
419-772-2219
http://www.law.onu.edu/faculty/gerber/