April 24, 2025
By Bill Raftery
Numerous states have adopted the practice of providing salary supplements to the chief or presiding judge or justice of their courts to reflect and compensate for the additional administrative roles and responsibilities those judges have. While the practice is remarkably common for chief justices of courts of last resort (as noted in NCSC’s Judicial Salaries at a Glance) a July 2024 review conducted as part of the National Center’s Judicial Salary Survey shows several states also engage in the practice for lower courts.
At the intermediate appellate court level, 18 states provide for an additional supplement with most setting it as a specific amount in state statute or the state’s budget. For example, the chief judge of the Idaho Court of Appeals receives a flat $3,000 “to compensate for the additional duties of the office.” This began as a $2,000 supplement first added to the chief judge’s salary in 2014 (S.B. 1394) and later increased to the current $3,000 in 2017 (S.B. 1108). Other states set the increased compensation as a percentage of the salaries of the other judges on the court. For example, California chief judges receive a 4% supplement over the salaries of the other judges of the court (S.B. 742 of 2001).
At the general jurisdiction court level, 15 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands allow for such supplements. Those supplements vary widely.
- Most jurisdictions (14/19) set the amount as a flat amount set at the state level either by statute or as part of the state’s budget. For example, South Dakota law provides that “the presiding judge of each circuit shall receive additional compensation for administrative duties in the sum of two thousand dollars for each presiding circuit court judge.”
- Two states set the amount of the supplement based on the number of judges of the court. In California, this means a 2% supplement for presiding judges with 2-14 judges in the court and a 4% supplement for presiding judges with 15 or more judges in the court. In Texas counties with more than five district courts, a district judge who serves as a local administrative district judge is entitled to an additional $5,000 from the state.
- Two states (Georgia and Indiana) allow localities to supplement judicial salaries. As a result, some chief or presiding judges receive supplements to reflect their administrative duties.
Do chief or presiding judges in your courts receive a salary supplement? Share your experiences with us. For more information, contact knowledge@ncsc.org or call 800-616-6164. Follow the National Center for State Courts on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and Vimeo. For more Trending Topics posts, visit ncsc.org/trending-topics and subscribe to the LinkedIn newsletter.