Roberts calls for judicial pay raise in year-end report News
Roberts calls for judicial pay raise in year-end report

[JURIST] Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts [official profile; JURIST news archive] released his first year-end report on the federal judiciary [PDF text] Sunday, one of his duties as the highest judicial officer in the country. After acknowledging the need to ensure the safety of all courtrooms following the high-profile killings of a Georgia state judge and a federal district judge's family members [JURIST reports], Roberts stressed the importance of increasing the pay of federal judges in order to keep the best judges on the bench. Calling the low pay of judges a "direct threat" to the independence of the judiciary, Roberts argued that the real pay of judges, adjusted for inflation, has declined by almost 24 percent since 1969, compared to a 15 percent increase in real pay enjoyed by the average American worker over the same period. As a result, of the 92 federal judges who have retired since 1992, 59 have retired to assume more lucrative positions in private practice. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.