Justices Will Be Lowest Paid Jurists In Michigan As Of October

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 04/18/2025) Michigan Supreme Court justices, who have received one pay raise in 22 years, will be the lowest-paid judicial position in state government starting in October, Chief Justice Megan Cavanagh confirmed on Friday.

Also, if the justices' salaries are not adjusted by 2029, Michigan's justices are projected to make 21 percent less than the Michigan Court of Appeals. Cavanagh said she plans on addressing the issue with the State Officers Compensation Commission (SOCC) at its meeting April 30.

At $181,748 a year, justices will make less than probate and district court judges ($186,171) by Halloween. If not addressed, justices are concerned the pool of interested candidates will continue to shrink.

Next year, appellate court judges will make $201,493 a year.

“It's a very real concern in terms of attracting and retaining,” Cavanagh said. “It's hard not to think that there could be an impact, and I don't think it's limited to the Court of Appeals or the lower courts. If you're in private practice or academia . . . everyone recognizes it.”

Former Chief Justice Beth Clement, like her predecessor, Bridget Mary McCormack, left in the prime of her career to take higher-paying positions elsewhere. Prior to that, former Justice Mary Beth Kelly left her seat with three years left in her term for a better-paying job with Bodman PC. Former Justice David Viviano didn't seek re-election in 2024.

One source familiar with the process says few Court of Appeals judges were interested in applying for Clement's open position because, in part, they didn't want the pay cut (or the political hassle every eight years).

Due to a constitutional change pushed in 2002 in reaction to a 37 percent legislative raise, Supreme Court justices' salaries were locked at $164,610 a year from 2002 to 2022. In 2002, Michigan justices made more than federal court judges ($159,100 to $164,610). Now, federal judges make $262,300. Likewise, the average pay for state justices in the region is currently $231,028, 27.3 percent more than Michigan's salaries.

In 2023, the 2019 SOCC recommendation approved by the legislature went into effect, which increased the Supreme Court salaries to $181,748. Subsequent SOCCs have attempted to raise the justices' salaries every two years, but the Legislature declined to approve a 7 percent raise for the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, in 2016, the Legislature passed a law tying the salaries of court of appeals and local judges to the same annual increases given to civil service non-exclusively represented employees (NEREs).