![[photo, Murphy Courts of Appeal Building, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/29ap/images/1198-1-136b.jpg)
Appointed by Governor to 6-year terms:Edward J. Gilliss, 2010; Annette J. Funn, 2012; John Paterakis, 2013; Ray Langston, 2014; Thomas Barbera, Esq., 2015; Alice G. Pinderhughes, Esq., 2016.
Staff: Flora M. Arabo; Jennifer K. Botts.
Murphy Courts of Appeal Building, Annapolis, Maryland, November 2002. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Formed in 1980, the Judicial Compensation Commission considers judicial compensation to ensure that highly qualified persons are attracted to the bench and judges may serve without economic hardship (Chapter 717, Acts of 1980). Every four years, beginning in September 2009, the Commission reviews judicial salaries and pensions and submits its recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly prior to the start of the next regular session of the General Assembly (Chapter 2, Acts of 2009).
The Commission's salary recommendations are introduced as a joint resolution in each house of the General Assembly by the fifteenth day of the session. While the General Assembly may not increase recommended salaries, it may decrease them. If the Legislature fails to adopt or amend the joint resolution within fifty days after its introduction, the salaries recommended by the Commission do apply. Commission recommendations concerning pensions are introduced in the form of legislation by the Senate President and the House Speaker and become effective only if passed by both houses.
Since July 1, 2008, annual salaries have been: for associate judges of the District Court of Maryland: $127,252 (chief judge: $149,552); for associate judges of the circuit court: $140,352; for Court of Special Appeals judges: $149,552 (chief judge: $152,552); for Court of Appeals judges: $162,352 (chief judge: $181,352).
The joint resolution passed by the General Assembly in its 2010 session maintained judicial salaries at the 2008 level (Joint Resolution 2, Acts of 2010). Because the Commission's recommendations were not accepted by the Legislature in 2010, the Commission will meet in 2011 and submit its recommendations to the General Assembly during the 2012 legislative session.
The Governor appoints the Commission's seven members. Two are nominated by the Senate President, two by the House Speaker, and one by the Maryland State Bar Association. Members serve without compensation (Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, sec. 1-708).
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