Federal judge salaries in the United States - Wikipedia Federal judge salaries in the United States This article needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( April 2016 ) Federal judge salaries in the United States are determined by the United States Congress and are governed in part by the United States Constitution, depending in part on the court on which the judge sits. In particular, United States federal judges confirmed under Article III of the Constitution have compensation that `` shall not be diminished during their continuance in office. '' Other federal judges have salaries that may be adjusted without direct constitutional constraints, however statutory schemes usually govern these salaries. Debates over judicial salaries and their increase and treatment have occurred since the ratification of the Constitution. Compensation varies based upon the particular judgeship, though it generally increases commensurate with the office. Contents 1 Article III judges 1.1 Supreme Court 1.2 Appeals Court 1.3 District Court 1.4 Court of International Trade 2 Non Article III judges 2.1 Magistrate judges 2.2 Bankruptcy judges 2.3 Administrative Law Judges 2.4 Tax Court judges 2.5 Court of Federal Claims judges 2.6 Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces 2.7 Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims 2.8 United States Court of Private Land Claims 2.9 United States Court for Berlin 3 Territorial judges 4 Hybrid courts and others 4.1 District of Columbia courts 4.2 United States Commerce Court 4.3 United States Court of Claims 4.4 Court of Customs and Patent Appeals 5 See also 6 References 7 Notes 8 External links Article III judges Article III federal judges are those appointed under Article III, Section 1 of the U.S Constitution. Due to the Compensation Clause, these judges are federal judges that may not have their salaries diminished during their time in office, and are appointed to indefinite terms and may not be removed unless they resign or are impeached. Supreme court The United States Supreme Court is the highest federal appellate court. Its members are commonly called justices. The following table lists salary increases for the justices between 1789 and 2017. Year Chief Justice Associate Justices 2017 inflation adjusted figures Chief Justice Associate Justice 1789 $4,000 $3,500 Data not available Data not available 1819 $5,000 $4,500 $79,935 $71,941 1855 $6,500 $6,000 $170,718 $157,586 1871 $8,500 $8,000 $173,636 $163,422 1873 $10,500 $10,000 $214,492 $204,278 1903 $13,000 $12,500 $354,081 $340,463 1911 $15,000 $14,500 $393,964 $380,832 1926 $20,500 $20,000 $283,378 $276,466 1946 $25,500 $25,000 $320,012 $313,737 1955 $35,500 $35,000 $324,307 $319,739 1964 $40,000 $39,500 $315,622 $311,677 1969 $62,500 $60,000 $417,083 $400,399 $65,600 $63,000 $298,344 $286,519 1976 $68,800 $66,000 $295,880 $283,839 1977 $75,000 $72,000 $302,883 $290,768 1978 $79,100 $76,000 $296,786 $285,155 1979 $84,700 $81,300 $285,596 $274,131 1980 $92,400 $88,700 $274,438 $263,449 1981 $96,800 $93,000 $260,566 $250,337 1982 $100,700 $96,700 $255,361 $245,218 1984 $104,700 $100,600 $246,625 $236,967 1985 $108,400 $104,100 $246,650 $236,866 $111,700 $107,200 $240,610 $230,916 $115,000 $110,000 $247,718 $236,948 1990 $124,000 $118,600 $232,271 $222,156 1991 $160,600 $153,600 $288,554 $275,977 1992 $166,200 $159,000 $289,835 $277,279 1993 $171,500 $164,100 $290,535 $277,998 1998 $175,400 $167,900 $263,351 $252,090 2000 $181,400 $173,600 $257,781 $246,697 2001 $186,300 $178,300 $257,480 $246,423 2002 $192,600 $184,400 $262,050 $250,893 2003 $198,600 $190,100 $264,201 $252,894 $203,000 $194,300 $263,013 $251,741 2005 $208,100 $199,200 $260,754 $249,602 2006 $212,100 $203,000 $257,475 $246,428 2008 $217,400 $208,100 $247,103 $236,533 2009 $223,500 $213,900 $254,943 $243,993 $223,500 $213,900 $250,819 $240,046 2011 $223,500 $213,900 $243,139 $232,695 2012 $223,500 $213,900 $238,240 $228,007 2013 $223,500 $213,900 $234,803 $224,717 2014 $255,500 $244,400 $264,120 $255,126 2015 $258,100 $246,800 $266,470 $254,804 2016 $260,700 $249,300 $265,833 $254,209 2017 $263,300 $251,800 NA NA Appeals court The following is a list of salaries for judges on the United States Court of Appeals. Year Salary 2017 inflation adjusted figures 1891 $6,000 Data not available 1903 $7,000 $190,659 1919 $8,500 $119,979 1926 $12,500 $172,791 1946 $17,500 $219,616 1955 $25,500 $232,953 1964 $33,000 $260,388 1969 $42,500 $283,616 $44,600 $202,838 1976 $46,800 $201,267 1977 $57,500 $232,210 1978 $60,700 $227,749 1979 $65,000 $219,170 1980 $70,900 $210,581 1981 $74,300 $200,001 1982 $77,300 $196,022 1984 $80,400 $189,386 1985 $83,200 $189,311 $85,700 $184,604 $95,000 $204,637 1990 $102,500 $191,998 1991 $132,700 $238,426 1992 $137,300 $239,437 1993 $141,700 $240,051 1998 $145,000 $217,707 2000 $149,900 $213,017 2001 $153,900 $212,701 2002 $159,100 $216,470 2003 $164,000 $218,172 $167,600 $217,148 2005 $171,800 $215,270 2006 $175,100 $212,559 2008 $179,500 $204,025 2009 $184,500 $210,456 District court The following is a table of district judge salaries in the United States. District judge salaries varied based on the state prior to 1891. They were unified in 1891. Year Minimum Maximum 2017 inflation adjusted figures Salaries of US district judges 1789 -- 1867 Minimum Maximum 1789 $800 $1,800 Data not available Data not available 1812 $800 $3,000 $11,536 $43,259 1816 $800 $3,100 $11,536 $44,701 1817 $800 $3,000 $12,257 $45,962 1830 $1,200 $3,500 $27,578 $80,434 1844 $1,200 $3,800 $31,517 $99,804 1847 $1,200 $3,500 $31,517 $91,925 1852 $1,200 $5,000 $35,299 $147,080 1854 $1,200 $3,500 $32,684 $95,330 1860 $1,200 $6,300 $32,684 $163,422 1862 $1,200 $3,500 $29,416 $85,797 1866 $1,200 $4,500 $20,056 $75,211 1867 $3,500 $5,000 $61,283 $87,548 Year Salary 2017 inflation adjusted figures Salaries of US district judges 1891 -- 2009 1891 $5,000 $136,185 1903 $6,000 $163,422 1919 $7,500 $105,864 1926 $10,000 $138,233 1946 $15,000 $188,242 1955 $22,500 $205,547 1964 $30,000 $236,717 1969 $40,000 $266,933 $42,000 $191,013 1976 $44,000 $189,226 1977 $54,500 $220,095 1978 $57,500 $215,742 1979 $61,500 $207,369 1980 $67,100 $199,295 1981 $70,300 $189,234 1982 $73,100 $185,372 1984 $76,000 $179,021 1985 $78,700 $179,072 $81,100 $174,695 $89,500 $192,789 1990 $96,600 $180,947 1991 $125,100 $224,770 1992 $129,500 $225,834 1993 $133,600 $226,329 1998 $136,700 $205,245 2000 $141,300 $200,796 2001 $145,100 $200,539 2002 $150,000 $204,089 2003 $154,700 $205,800 $158,100 $204,839 2005 $162,100 $203,115 2006 $165,200 $200,542 2008 $169,300 $192,432 2009 $174,000 $198,479 Court of International Trade See also : United States Court of International Trade According to the Federal Judiciary Center, Court of International Trade judges receive the same salary as district court judges. Non Article III judges Magistrate judges Since 1988, the salary of magistrate judges is set by the Judicial Conference of the United States, but may not exceed 92 percent of the salary of district court judges. Bankruptcy judges Since 1988, bankruptcy judges receive compensation equal to 92 percent of the salary of district judges. Administrative Law judges United States Administrative Law Judges are hired in the pay category of AL 3A and proceed on an annual basis through the steps until they reach AL 3F. The base pay for each step varies according to the location of the position and the locality pay paid in that area. This chart explains the various salary grades. Due to wage compression and the lack of any federal pay increases, most USALJs earn $168,600 annually as of 2015. ALJ pay is capped at 85 % of a Level IV Senior Executive Schedule. This pay cap has resulted in severe pay compression for USALJs. As a result, many USALJs have retired or plan to retire within the next few years, resulting in a loss of experienced judges throughout the federal government. Congress has shown no interest in addressing the pay compression issue. Tax court judges Judges of the Tax Court receive the same compensation as district court judges. Court of federal Claims judges Since 1988, judges of the Court of Federal Claims receive the same compensation as district court judges. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Judges of the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces receive the same compensation as judges of the circuit courts of appeals. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims Judges of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims receive the same compensation as district court judges. United States Court of Private Land Claims United States Court for Berlin Territorial judges Territorial Courts are created under Article IV and exist in U.S. Territories. Only three currently exist. Compensation is fixed at the rate of regular district court judges. Hybrid courts and others District of Columbia courts See also : Superior Court of the District of Columbia and District of Columbia Court of Appeals United States Commerce court The United States Commerce Court sat from 1910 to 1913. It had a staggered and limited - term membership, but consisted of Article III Appellate Court judges that would be at - large judges when not on the Court. United States court of Claims The United States Court of Claims was a court that served from 1855 to 1982. It existed as both an Article I and Article III court ( after 1953 ). Court of Customs and Patent Appeals The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals was a court sitting from 1909 to 1982. Its treatment as an Article I or Article III court is ambiguous ; it was originally ruled an Article I court, however it was later ruled an Article III court after Congress amended the law creating it. See also Judicial independence References Jump up ^ U.S. Constitution, Art III, Sec 1. Jump up ^ `` History of the Federal Judiciary ''. Federal Judiciary Center. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` History of the Federal Judiciary ''. Federal Judiciary Center. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` 28 U.S.C. § 153 ''. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` 26 U.S.C. § 7443 ''. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` 28 U.S.C. § 172 ''. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` 10 U.S.C. § 942 ''. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Jump up ^ `` 38 U.S.C. § 7253 ''. Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 11 January 2014. Notes ^ Jump up to : Based on CPI figures. See ( ( Inflation ) ) for details. External links Judicial Salary Info Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Federal_judge_salaries_in_the_United_States&oldid=853738866 '' Categories : United States law - related lists United States federal courts United States judicial salaries Salaries of office - holders Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2016 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Edit links This page was last edited on 6 August 2018, at 18 : 10 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who decides the salaries of the judges of supreme court
Answer: the United States Congress