Chief Justice Seeks Judicial Pay Increases, Reporter and Bailiff Raises, and a New Judgeship

Chief Justice Dustin Roe told the Senate subcommittee the judiciary is asking the legislature to act on a Board on Judicial Compensation recommendation that would raise judicial salaries by 17.58% and noted several related staffing and operational requests.

Rationale and major requests: Roe said the Board on Judicial Compensation — an independent body created by statute — recommended the 17.58% adjustment to bring judicial pay to the regional average. He also highlighted critical shortages: about one in three court-reporter slots are vacant and the judiciary seeks a higher base (the presentation noted a statutory base of $53,000 and requested raising it toward roughly $63,000); bailiff base pay (statutory) was described at $42,000 with a requested increase to $48,000. The judiciary also requested one new district judgeship in Oklahoma County on the basis of caseload and census metrics and asked for modest staff-salary increases to retain experienced staff attorneys.

Security and programs: Roe described rising threats against judges and sought funding for an initial judicial security officer to build a statewide plan instead of reacting after incidents occur. He also described the FRAP (GRAMA representation and advocacy program) rollout and requested funding to extend the program statewide — noting a total FRAP need of $5.5 million and the possibility of phased appropriations.

Committee exchange: Senators asked about vacancy distribution, reporter transcript pay (which the chief justice said is paid directly to reporters), and whether technology such as voice writing should be adopted (Roe said voice writing could expand the candidate pool but would require statutory change). The AOC finance director confirmed judicial-fund collections have trended down while expenses rise, affecting the State Judicial Fund’s contribution capacity.

What’s next: the judiciary’s requests will be considered in the appropriations process; chief justice offered follow-up and documentation on revenue trends and staffing data if the committee desires.