State's top courts raise clerk pay from 1% to 36.8%

Listing of higher salaries for law clerks.
Listing of higher salaries for law clerks.

After receiving sizable pay raises this year, members of the Arkansas Supreme Court have now given pay raises to their top aides. But, the raises that Supreme Court law clerks received far outpace those given to the state Court of Appeals law clerks.

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The average increase in the annual salaries of the 14 Supreme Court clerks was about $7,839. The raises ranged from 5.2 percent to 36.8 percent, with one clerk with four years of experience receiving $18,609 more a year.

The state's 24 appeals court law clerks each received 1 percent pay raises, for an overall average of $574 more a year. Those smaller raises were in line with what other officials in the Administrative Office of the Courts and employees in other state agencies received.

Before the raises, the average salary for a Court of Appeals law clerk was $57,391. The average for the Supreme Court's law clerks was $56,944.

Now the average Supreme Court clerk makes $64,783, and the average Court of Appeals clerk makes $57,965.

Chief Justice Jim Hannah did not return a call seeking comment about the reasoning behind the high court's raises.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Bob Brown, who left the court in 2012, said the salaries for law clerks are set and approved by their respective courts every year.

He said the high court considers salaries for similar positions in the private and public sector when determining the pay for its clerks. Law clerks read briefs, do research and help draft court rulings.

In his years on the court, staff raises fluctuated, Brown said, but he never saw raises like the ones given this year.

"I don't know what the factors could be for that," Brown said. "I knew we gave some bumps in the past. But I don't recall something in the 30 [percent range]. I could be wrong. But it doesn't come to mind."

Robert Gladwin, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, said pay raises for appeals court staff members traditionally have been "consistent" with those at the Supreme Court, and usually are in line with pay increases given at other state agencies.

He said he didn't know why the Supreme Court decided to give such large raises this year, but he'd never seen such sizable increases.

"I've not talked to any clerk [about them] specifically myself. And our court is still in the process of trying to figure out exactly what's going on in terms of how it affects our clerks," Gladwin said. "I'm certain our court will have further discussions."

Several Supreme Court justices did not return phone calls to answer questions about the raises.

Each judge or justice is assigned two law clerks, who must have law degrees to be eligible for the positions.

When the Court of Appeals was created in 1979, legislators passed a law requiring that "clerks for the Court of Appeals shall receive the same salaries as Supreme Court clerks."

Administrative Office of the Courts Director J.D. Gingerich said law clerks at both courts have the same pay-grade classifications, but it's not unusual for there to be variations in their pay.

Stacey Pectol, the Supreme Court clerk of courts who got a 1 percent raise of $959, said she wasn't involved in the budgeting process and was unaware of any records that might shed light on the reasoning behind the pay raises.

The disparity in pay raises was noticeable not only between the courts but also between clerks working for the same Supreme Court justice.

For example, Justice Karen Baker's clerk Allison Hatfield, who has been at the court for four years, received a 36.8 percent pay increase, the highest given, and her annual salary rose from $50,500 to $69,109.

Baker's other clerk, Jaletta Smith, joined the court two weeks after Hatfield. Her salary rose from $50,500 to $53,109, about a 5 percent increase.

Justice Rhonda Wood's ranking clerk, Brian Johnston, started working with the court in 2012. His annual salary rose from $50,499 to $62,489, a 23.7 percent bump.

Wood's other clerk, Matthew Swindle, joined the court at the start of this year at a $49,500 salary. In July, his pay rose to $54,988, about an 11 percent increase.

Earlier this year, an Independent Citizens Commission voted to increase the compensation for judges and justices.

The six associate justices' pay increased from $149,589 to $166,500, while the chief justice's salary rose from $161,601 to $180,000. The appeals court judges' pay rose from $144,982 to $161,500. The chief of the appeals court's salary grew from $147,286 to $164,000.

As for the clerks' raises, neither Pectol nor Gingerich knew why some clerks received higher raises than others.

When asked where the money for the pay increases came from, neither Gingerich or Pectol knew for sure. But Gingerich said the courts frequently spend less money than has been allotted. Gingerich said the Supreme Court returned more than $150,000 in unspent funds to the state last year.

Metro on 07/26/2015

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