The state’s spending plan for FY23, signed by Governor Charlie D. Baker on July 28, 2022, contained a 12.5 percent pay increase to $207,855 for Massachusetts jurists. Massachusetts judges have not received a pay increase since the final installment of a four-step increase went into effect in 2018.
“The MBA is pleased to have lobbied for and supported the recent judicial compensation package as passed by the legislature in its budget. The judges and clerk magistrates are the true backbone of our judicial system and were invaluable when the judicial system grappled on a daily basis with the unprecedented COVID crisis. This long-overdue pay increase recognizes the unique value of these judicial officers and is a necessary step to appropriately reward those laboring in the trenches of the legal system,” said Thomas Bond, MBA President.
Prior to the pay increase, an early 2022 study by the National Center for State Courts found that, when adjusted for cost of living, Massachusetts judges’ salaries ranked 40th out of 51 districts, including the District of Columbia.