Connecticut’s judges are asking the General Assembly for a 4.6% pay hike this year to close growing compensation disparities among themselves, judges nationwide, other state employees and the private sector.
And while legislative leaders from both parties praised the quality of Connecticut’s judges and their performance, they also noted lawmakers are swamped with funding requests this year involving education, municipal aid, human services and other core programs.
“Superior Court judges frequently make less than public sector lawyers appearing before them,” Judge Joan K. Alexander, Connecticut’s chief court administrator, testified last week before the Appropriations Committee.
And while judges appreciate the 3.5% pay hike they received this fiscal year, a larger raise is needed in 2026-27 “to continue the progress that has been made in diversifying our bench and to continue to recruit and retain talented individuals,” she added.
Both Alexander and the state Commission on Judicial Compensation noted that compensation for Connecticut’s superior court judges particularly has lagged the nation.
According to the National Center for State Courts, Connecticut ranks 21st in wages for general jurisdiction judges, but that slips to 42nd once adjusted for regional differences in cost of living.
Judicial officials also say the pay gap is widening in other areas.
Connecticut judges’ pay rose 15.5% from 2021 to 2024, while the increase for state employees was 18%, according to the compensation commission’s January 2025 report to lawmakers. Most unionized state workers receive both a cost-of-living hike and a step increase, excluding those at top experience levels. Judges only receive one fixed increase regardless of time served on the bench.
Many unionized state employees have received effective wage hikes equal to 4.5% in recent years. And Gov. Ned Lamont struck tentative deals in December with bargaining units representing judicial marshals, their supervisors and other judicial support staff for comparable raises this fiscal year.
According to Connecticut’s Open Payroll website, the state’s chief public defender, John Day, earns $248,023 per year while Patrick Griffin, the chief state’s attorney, makes $233,786. Wages for both exceed the $208,059 paid to superior court judges and the $216,363 paid to appellate court judges. Pay for Day and Griffin both top the $230,334 paid to Supreme Court associate justices, and Day’s pay nearly matches Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins’ salary of $248,936.
Brian Hill, executive director of the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s Administrative Services Division, said the compensation disparity between judges and private-sector attorneys, in some instances, is even greater.
“Making sure that the judges are representative of the people of this state is crucial and a very worthy goal,” added Stephen Ment, executive director for external affairs within the Judicial Branch. “And in order to get there, in order to recruit attorneys from all walks of life, the compensation needs to be commensurate with the responsibility.”
Leaders of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee last week said lawmakers must look seriously at judges’ compensation.
“Part of the issue is making sure we have enough judges to make sure justice is dispensed in this state, and the salaries have something to do with that,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, D-New Haven, co-chairman of the committee.
Rep. Steven Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, voiced support for raising judges’ pay.
“I say give them all raises, big raises,” said Stafstrom, the panel’s other co-chair. “If you look at what lawyers in private practice make in the state, if you look at what judges make in other states, if you look at what federal judges make, all of those indicate that we are underpaying judges in Connecticut.”
Stafstrom also said that judges’ jobs have become more difficult in the last five to 10 years because of increased political pressure and threats.
But while leaders on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee also said judges’ compensation needs close review, the same can be said for many other programs.
Lawmakers are being asked to consider boosting both general operating aid and special education for local school districts, more funds for community-based nonprofits that deliver the bulk of social services, higher Medicaid rates for doctors who treat poor patients, added funds for affordable child care and many other initiatives, said Rep. Toni Walker, D-New Haven.
Walker said Connecticut must ensure it has the best people serving as judges but said it’s premature to predict what her panel will recommend when it offers its own spending plan for the 2026-27 fiscal year in late March or early April.
Rep. Tammy Nuccio of Tolland, ranking House Republican on the Appropriations Committee, agreed.
“Everybody’s always asking for more, and it just comes down to what our priorities are,” Nuccio said. Lawmakers, who are weighing several proposals to provide new tax relief, also must weigh what Connecticut households can afford, she added.