Oregon’s Low-Paid Judges Looking For A Raise in Salem

Chief Justice Martha Walters asks lawmakers to raise salaries and peg them to federal standards.

The new Multnomah County Courthouse, under contsruction in May 2018. (Walker Stockly)
By Nigel Jaquiss

Oregon's circuit court judges are among the lowest paid in the nation.

Adjusted for the cost of living here, their pay ranks 46th in the nation. Their pay of $142,136 is about a third less than the highest-paid equivalent judges, who are in Tennessee and make $208,000 (judges in Washington state are paid $169,187).

Oregon's appellate court judges are also poorly paid in comparison with their peers from other states.

In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee earlier this week, Oregon Justice Martha Walters proposed increasing salaries across the board and then pegging them to federal court judges' salaries. Walters told lawmakers that in the federal system, judges make more than the government lawyers who appear before them. That is currently often not the case in Oregon.

Walters and others said the low salaries make it difficult to attract highly-qualified candidates to the bench. She asked lawmakers to change that.

"We are using the salaries of federal judges to get us to a structure that is similar to the federal structure, but we are not asking that state judges be paid the same as federal judges," Walters said. "We are asking that in 2020, state trial court judges be paid 75% of the salary of a federal trial court judge. And that in 2021 and beyond, state circuit court judges be paid 80% of a federal district judge salary."

federalsalaries oregonsalaries

The bill remains in the Judiciary Committee.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.