Editing United States federal judge (section)

==Salary==
{{main|Federal judge salaries in the United States}}

As of 2024, federal judges' annual salaries are: $246,300 for district judges, $257,900 for circuit judges, $298,500 for [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|associate Supreme Court justices]], and $312,200 for the [[Chief Justice of the United States]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-compensation |publisher=uscourts.gov |title=Judicial Salaries Since 1968 }}</ref> Chief Justice [[John Roberts]] has repeatedly pleaded for an increase in judicial pay, calling the situation "a constitutional crisis that threatens to undermine the strength and independence of the federal judiciary".<ref name="2006rfj">{{cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/year-end/2006year-endreport.pdf |format=PDF |publisher=supremecourt.us |title=2006 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary |author=John Roberts}}</ref> For some [[Partner (business rank)|partners]] at leading [[law firm]]s, especially in major metropolitan areas, becoming a federal judge can represent a more than 90 percent pay cut. Associates at the largest U.S. law firms with judicial clerkship experience already earn as much as a federal judge in their first year as full-time associates.<ref>Debra Cassens Weiss, [http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/scalia_denies_abortion_views_influenced_by_religion "Scalia Denies Abortion Views Influenced by Religion, Calls His GPS Opinion 'Defendant Friendly'"], ''ABA Journal'', 4 February 2012.</ref> 

When those attorneys eventually become experienced partners and reach the stage in life where one would normally consider switching to public service, their interest in joining the judiciary is tempered by the prospect of a giant pay cut back to what they were making 10 to 20 years earlier, adjusted for inflation. One way for attorneys to soften the financial blow is to spend only a few years on the bench and then return to private practice or go into private arbitration, but such turnover creates a risk of a [[Revolving door (politics)|revolving door]] judiciary subject to [[regulatory capture]]. Roberts has warned that "judges are no longer drawn primarily from among the best lawyers in the practicing bar" and "If judicial appointment ceases to be the capstone of a distinguished career and instead becomes a stepping stone to a lucrative position in private practice, the Framers' goal of a truly independent judiciary will be placed in serious jeopardy."<ref name="2006rfj" />