If you wanted to design a rational system for compensating state judges, you might settle on any number of approaches. You might want to increase pay with years on the job. You might consider a merit pay component, as some school districts have done. You might want to pay more for certain specialties, or scarce skill sets. You might want to pay extra to judges in managerial roles, or offer enticements to judges to handle less desirable calendars.
And, of course, you might set salaries to reflect the cost of living in the area where the judge was serving, and other market conditions that factor into the compensation decisions of most employers.
