NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL
Paper Trail of Suppression, Protectionism,
Blackballing, & Election-Rigging

2011

CJA's May 23, 2011 e-mail to Joel Stashenko -- "(1) NYS Commission on Judicial Compensation -- Inoperative & Inaccessible to the Public; (2) The Public's Evidence -- Presented & Proffered at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings, Disentitling the Judiciary to any Increased Compensation"
                      ATTACHING:  CJA's May 23, 2011 letter to Governor Cuomo, Temporary Senate President Skelos, Assembly Speaker Silver & Chief Judge Lippman  -- "(1) NYS's Commission on Judicial Compensation -- Inoperative & Inaccessible to the Public; (2) Evidence Disentitling NYS's Judiciary to Increased Compensation, Presented and Proffered by the Public at the NYS Senate Judiciary Committee's June 8, 2009 and September 24, 2009 Public Hearings -- as to which There Has Been No Investigation, No Findings, and No Committee Report"   click here for NYLJ coverage prior to CJA's May 23, 2011 letter           

CJA's June 6, 2011 e-mail to Stashenko -- "(1) NYS Commission on Judicial Compensation -- Inoperative & Inaccessible to the Public; (2) The Public's Evidence -- Presented & Proffered at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings, Disentitling the Judiciary to any Increased Compensation"

CJA's June 6, 2011 e-mail to Stashenko -- "by the way: Today marks 66 days past the April 1st start-up date for the Commission on Judicial Compensation --"

 June 13, 2011
"Cuomo Appointments Finalize Judicial Pay Panel",
                    Joel Stashenko, front-page lead "News in Brief" item   internet

CJA's June 13, 2011 e-mail to Stashenko, with cc to Daniel Wise, Kris Fischer --
"NY's Judicial Compensation Commission: not yet operational or accessible to the public on day 73 of its maximum 150-day statutorily-limited existence" 
               (enclosing CJA's 6-10-11 FOIL request to OCA -- "Request for Records of Judicial Resignations Based on Insufficient Compensation")   
                   
cc: Fischer, Wise
CJA's June 18, 2011 e-mail to Legislative Correspondents Association reporters --
""'New York judges ask for 41-percent raise, retroactive pay' --UPDATE: NY's Judicial Compensation Commission"

CJA's June 18, 2011 e-mail to Fischer, Wise --
"Please forward this to Joel -- ''New York judges ask for 41-percent raise, retroactive pay' --UPDATE: NY's Judicial Compensation Commission'"   (with undeliverable receipts for Stashenko)

CJA's June 24, 2011 e-mail to NYLJ -- "NY Judicial Compensation Commission: (1) Subject to Open Meetings Law & Executive Order #3, Requiring Public Access, Etc.; (2) Disqualifying Conflict of Interest of Chairman Thompson, Requiring His Resignation"
            ATTACHING:  CJA's June 23, 2011 letter to Governor Cuomo's Appointees to the Judicial Compensation Commission -- "(1) Bringing Public Accessibility, Input, and Accountability to the Judicial Compensation Commission -- Facilitated by the Open Meetings Law & Executive Order #3; and  (2) Chairman Thompson's Disqualifying Conflict of Interest, Requiring his Resignation" -- June 23, 2011 transmittal letter to indicated recipients          

Committee on Open Government -- Open Meetings Law

Executive Order #3 "Promotion of Public Access to Government Decisionmaking" 

CJA's June 24, 2011 e-mail to Fischer, Wise --
"Please forward this to Joel Stashenko  --NY Judicial Compensation Commission: (1) Subject to Open Meetings Law & Executive Order #3, Requiring Public Access, Etc.; (2) Disqualifying Conflict of Interest of Chairman Thompson, Requiring His Resignation"  (with undeliverable receipts for Stashenko)

CJA's June 28, 2011 e-mail to NYLJ --
"Is NY's Judicial Compensation Commission Violating the Open Meetings Law & its Video Broadcast Obligations under Executive Order #3"

CJA's June 28, 2011 e-mail to Fischer, Wise --
"FORWARD TO JOEL STASHENKNO -- Is NY's Judicial Compensation Commission Violating the Open Meetings Law & its Video Broadcast Obligations under Executive Order #3"

CJA's June 30, 2011 e-mail to NYLJ --
"AGAIN -- Is NY's Judicial Compensation Commission Violating the Open Meetings Law & its Video Broadcast Obligations under Executive Order #3"  

CJA's July 6, 2011 letter to Office of Court Administration --
"NYT Questions & OCA Answers Underlying & Substantiating William Glaberson's July 5, 2011 NYT Article 'Pay Frozen, More New York Judges Leave Bench'  Pursuant to 124 of the Rules of the Chief Administrator & FOIL" -- cc to William Glaberson & New York Times

July 22, 2011 response from OCA

July 12, 2011
"OCA Urges Up to 41% Pay Raises for Judges",
Andrew Keshner, Joel Stashenko

CJA's July 12, 2011 e-mail to NYLJ Executive Editor William Storey --
"LAW JOURNAL COVERAGE: NY Judicial Compensation Commission"
  
CJA's July 13, 2011 e-mail to Storey, Keshner, Wise, Fischer --
"FOR PRESS FOLLOW-UP: Today's Gannett Article on Judicial Pay Raises"

July 14, 2011
"Stagnant Salaries Affect Quality of the Bench, Bar Groups Say"
Joel Stashenko

July 19, 2011
"Pay Commission Head Floats Option of Incremental Raises"
Joel Stashenko
                 ["The Center of Judicial Accountability, a citizens group,
is expected to oppose any raise."]

July 20, 2011 
                 "Cuomo Aide: Time Is Not Right to Raise Judges' Pay"
Joel Stashenko       

July 22, 2011
"Panel's Chair Says Judges Made Strong Case for Raise"
Joel Stashenko

July 29, 2011
"Commission to Focus on Amount of Judges' Raise"
Joel Stashenko
             ["At the public hearing last week, for instance, the anti-raise Center for Judicial Accountability through its head Elena Sassower called on Mr. Thompson to recuse himself from the commission because his father, William Thompson, Sr., was a long-time Supreme Court and Appellate Division justice.  The younger Mr. Thompson refused.  He explained later that his father, now 86, has been off the bench since his mandatory retirement at age 76 and would  not profit in any way by a salary adjustment.    Ms. Sassower and her allies insist that no raise should be adopted until procedures are in place to root out what they claim is widespread corruption in the judiciary."] 
                    CAUTION:  This is materially "erroneous" -- See CJA's August 8, 2011 letter, posted below

CJA's August 1, 2011 e-mail to NYLJ --
"Absence of Evidence that Judicial Compensation has Deterred Qualified Private Sector Lawyers from Becoming Judges"

August 1, 2011 acknowledgment from Fischer --
"Re: Absence of Evidence that Judicial Compensation has Deterred Qualified Private Sector Lawyers from Becoming Judges"

CJA's August 1, 2011 e-mail to Fischer --
"Thank you for the courtesy of"

August 8, 2011
"Judicial Pay Commission to Meet Today"

SENT TO MEDIA:   CJA's August 8, 2011 letter to Commission -- "Threshold Issues Barring Commission Consideration of Pay Raises for Judges: (1) Chairman Thompson’s Disqualification for Interest, as to which there has been No Determination; (2) Systemic Corruption in New York’s Judiciary, Embracing the Commission on Judicial Conduct, as to which there has been No Determination; & (3) The Fraud & Lack of Evidence Put Forward by Advocates of Judicial Pay Raises.
         Enclosures:
            (1)  Transcription of CJA's July 20, 2011 testimony before the Commission
            (2)  "NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC", 1989 Report of NYS Comptroller
                   Regan  -- with his press release,
                             "COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT NEEDS OVERSIGHT" 
            (3) Transcription of CJA's questions at the Dec. 11, 2002 forum on the
                 Commission on Judicial Conduct, co-sponsored by NYS Bar Association
                  & Fund for Modern Courts

August 9, 2011 
"Panelists Support Salary Increase in Open Meeting on Judicial Pay"
Joel Stashenko

       August 25, 2011
                     "Final Judicial Pay Panel Meeting Set for Tomorrow"
Joel Stashenko

              August 26, 2011 
                      "UPDATED:  In Split Vote, Commission Votes to Raise Judicial Pay"
Joel Stashenko

          August 29, 2011
"Staged Raise of 27% Is Endorsed for Judges"
Joel Stashenko, John Caher

August 30, 2011
"Raise for Judges Is Shameful",
letter by Albany Family Court Judge W. Dennis Duggan

August 31, 2011
"Despite Outcome, Lippman Says Pay 'Nightmare Is Over'"
John Caher

September 2, 2011
"Raises for Justices Mean Higher Pay For Some D.A.s"
John Caher

September 15, 2011
"Citing Poor Pay, Court of Claims Judge Resigns"
Joel Stashenko 

September 20, 2011
"Judge Resigns Second Department Over Wages"
Daniel Wise

    September 30, 2011
"N.Y. Judges' Groups Ask to Keep Yearly $10K Stipend With Pay Hike"
Joel Stashenko
with hyperlinked Sept. 9, 2011 memo
of App. Div., 1st Dept. Justice David Saxe

CJA's November 14, 2011 e-mail to Fischer --
"Will the NYLJ be giving coverage to CJA's October 27, 2011 Opposition Report on the judicial pay raise issue?"
(cc: William Storey, Joel Stashenko, John Caher, Laura Haring)  
        
       attachments:
           --  CJA's August 1, 2011 e-mail to Fischer -- "Thank you for the courtesy of"
             --  Executive Summary to CJA's October 27, 2011 Opposition Report
  
Kris Fischer's November 14, 2011 e-mail 

CJA's November 14, 2011 e-mail to Fischer -- "Thank you.."
(cc: Storey, Stashenko, Caher, Haring)  
                                           
SEE:  NYLJ masthead (June 13, 2011)

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