Since January 1993, there have been five adjustments in federal judicial pay. On February 13, 2003, the President signed P.L. 108-6 (H.R. 16), which permits the January 2003 3.1% pay adjustment to go into effect under the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, as amended. Executive Order 13291, March 21, 2003, promulgates the pay rates retroactive to January 1. The Chief Justice has called for changes in pay setting for the judiciary. This report discusses the current pay situation for federal judges and provides some historical context. The report will be updated as events dictate.

Considers (84) S. 165, (84) S. 462, (84) S. 540.

Courts, like other government institutions, shape public policy. But how are courts drawn into the policy process, and how are patterns of policy debate shaped by the institutional structure of the courts? Drawing on the experience of the Brazilian federal courts since the transition to democracy, Judging Policy examines the judiciary's role in public policy debates. During a period of energetic policy reform, the high salience of many policies, combined with the conducive institutional structure of the judiciary, ensured that Brazilian courts would become an important institution at the heart of the policy process. The Brazilian case thus challenges the notion that Latin America's courts have been uniformly pliant or ineffectual, with little impact on politics and policy outcomes. Judging Policy also inserts the judiciary into the scholarly debate regarding the extent of presidential control of the policy process in Latin America's largest nation. By analyzing the full Brazilian federal court system—including not only the high court, but also trial and appellate courts—the book develops a framework with cross-national implications for understanding how courts may influence policy actors' political strategies and the distribution of power within political systems.