New York judges will not be awarded damages for the years in which state lawmakers failed to increase their pay in violation of the state constitution, a divided state appeals panel ruled Thursday.
The Appellate Division, First Department’s 3-2 ruling in Larabee v. Governor of the State of New York, 112301/07, found that even though the Court of Appeals ruled that the state Legislature violated the Constitution by not adequately considering pay raises for judges for more than a decade, courts could not award retroactive damages because that would infringe on the role of the Legislature.
