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Idaho Supreme Court to ask Legislature for a dramatic pay raise for judges

Idaho Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan addresses the media about the Idaho Supreme Court’s budget request for the 2025 legislative session. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/TNS) (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/TNS)
By Scott McIntosh Idaho Statesman

The Idaho Supreme Court is planning to ask Idaho legislators for a dramatic pay raise for judges across the board and for significant changes in the way their salaries are set moving forward.

Under the proposal revealed Thursday:

• Supreme Court justice salaries would go from $169,508 annually to $215,000;

• Court of Appeals judge salaries would go from $161,508 to $207,000;

• District judge salaries would go from $155,508 to $201,000;

• Magistrate judge salaries would go from $147,508 to $193,000.

“The Supreme Court does not make these requests lightly,” Chief Justice G. Richard Bevan said in a press release. “Idaho’s courts use just a small slice of public spending and we find thoughtful ways to stretch public dollars. But to maintain our strong, independent judiciary, we must keep salaries competitive with what experienced attorneys and judges can earn elsewhere.”

Among the reasons for the request for raises were to attract and retain qualified judges, address Idaho’s low judicial pay compared to other states, maintain the quality of the judiciary, and respond to the increased caseloads and demands on the courts in one of the fastest-growing states in the country.

In addition, the Supreme Court is proposing a significant change in how judicial salaries are set, calling for a new, independent salary committee, patterned after the panel that sets legislative salaries.

Currently, the Idaho Legislature sets judicial salaries, and those salaries have been the subject of political wrangling the past couple of sessions.

Further, the Supreme Court is asking for four new judgships to alleviate increasing caseloads and reduce the reliance on traveling judges. The court is asking for a new district judge and a new magistrate judge in Kootenai County; a new magistrate judge in Twin Falls County; and a new district judge and magistrate judge in Bonneville County.

In all, the proposals would add about $10 million to the state budget, Bevan said at a news conference Thursday at the Idaho Supreme Court building.