Referring to proposals for making judicial salaries more equitable, the seventeenth Chief Justice of the United States, John Glover Roberts, Jr., said at 12:01 a.m. today in the 2007 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary:
I do not need to rehearse the compelling arguments in favor of this legislation. They have already been made by distinguished jurists, lawyers, and economists in congressional hearings, letters, and editorials–and seconded by a broad spectrum of commercial, governmental, and public interest organizations that appear as litigants before the courts. I simply ask once again for a moment’s reflection on how America would look in the absence of a skilled and independent Judiciary. Consider the critical role of our courts in preserving individual liberty, promoting commerce, protecting property, and ensuring that every person who appears in an American court can expect fair and impartial justice. The cost of this long overdue legislation–less than .004 percent of the annual federal budget–is miniscule in comparison to what is at stake.
