Want better judges? You might try paying them more.
2 months agoClearly, these are not two of Wisconsin’s finest legal minds. Wisconsin’s finest legal minds are probably too busy in private practice to be bothered with a job that pays less than that of a first-year associate.
That’s a huge problem, and it’s the first step Wisconsin must consider to improve the quality of its future justices. Wisconsin must consider the cost of competence. I’ve long held that Wisconsin’s legislature would be more productive if we either doubled their pay, or cut their pay in half and truly made the job part-time. $48K a year isn’t enough to draw a number of highly desirable legislative candidates, and the present workload is too great for most highly-qualifed individuals to consider taking on lawmaking duties in addition to their careers. Of the states with full-time legislatures, Wisconsin ranks dead last in pay.