Congress sets the pay of the federal Judiciary, but a case on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court challenges whether Congress has the power to withhold judicial raises under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The case, brought by seven retired and sitting judges, is Beer v U.S. (the "Judges' Beer Money" case?).
Federal judicial pay ranges from $160,080 for a bankruptcy or magistrate judge to $213,900 for Supreme Court justices. Clerks for Supreme Court justices typically make far in excess of that amount when they leave the Court.
The federal judicial pay controversy parallels the situation in most states, where judicial pay is also stagnating. Michigan judges, for example, like their counterparts in New York, have not received a pay increase in almost a decade.
Here's the Washington Post's story.
Here's the ABA's amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs.
