![[photo, Murphy Courts of Appeal Building, Annapolis, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/29ap/images/1198-1-136b.jpg)
Appointed by Governor to 6-year terms:Annette J. Funn, 2012; Raymond L. Langston, 2014; Alice G. Pinderhughes, Esq., 2016; Edward J. Gilliss, Esq., 2019; Joshua E. Schmerling, Esq., 2019; one vacancy.
Staff: Jennifer K. Botts; Jordan D. More.
Murphy Courts of Appeal Building, Annapolis, Maryland, November 2002. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
Formed in 1980, the Judicial Compensation Commission considers judicial compensation to ensure that highly qualified persons are attracted to the bench and judges may serve without economic hardship (Chapter 717, Acts of 1980). Every four years, beginning in September 2009, the Commission reviews judicial salaries and pensions and submits its recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly prior to the start of the next regular session of the General Assembly (Chapter 2, Acts of 2009).
The Commission's salary recommendations are introduced as a joint resolution in each house of the General Assembly by the fifteenth day of the session. While the General Assembly may not increase recommended salaries, it may decrease them. If the Legislature fails to adopt or amend the joint resolution within fifty days after its introduction, the salaries recommended by the Commission do apply. Commission recommendations concerning pensions are introduced in the form of legislation by the Senate President and the House Speaker and become effective only if passed by both houses.
Because the Commission recommendations were not accepted by the Legislature in 2010, the Commission met in 2011 and submitted its recommendations to the General Assembly during the 2012 legislative session.
In its 2012 session, the General Assembly authorized the following judicial salaries as of July 1, 2013 (Joint Resolution 5, Acts of 2012):
Circuit Court:
$144,908 associate judges
Court of Special Appeals:
$154,108 judges
$157,108 chief judge
Court of Appeals:
$166,908 judges
$185,908 chief judge
Further, on July 1, 2014, annual salaries will increase to:
Circuit Court:
$149,600 associate judges
Court of Special Appeals:
$158,800 judges
$161,800 chief judge
Court of Appeals:
$171,600 judges
$190,600 chief judge
Finally, on July 1, 2015, judicial salaries will increase to:
Circuit Court:
$154,333 associate judges
Court of Special Appeals:
$163,333 judges
$166,633 chief judge
Court of Appeals:
$176,433 judges
$195,433 chief judge
The Governor appoints the Commission's seven members. Two are nominated by the Senate President, two by the House Speaker, and one by the Maryland State Bar Association. Members serve without compensation (Code Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article, sec. 1-708).
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