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« Carcieri to detail 'tax holiday' this afternoon | Today | Rust-colored water could follow Pawtucket water main break » March 29, 2006Judiciary proposes changes after judge's pension draws criticismPROVIDENCE -- The head of the Rhode Island court system drafted legislation today that would change the way judge's pensions are determined, a move that comes a few days after The Journal ran a story about retired Traffic Tribunal Associate Judge Marjorie R. Yashar's pension. The calculations used to determine Yashar's retirement included eight months of unpaid leave, pushing her annual pension from $81,650 to $120,310. Governor Carcieri and Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty, a candidate for governor, both criticized Yashar's pension award this week. Carcieri said Yashar's case showed that the system should be changed. Court Administrator J. Joseph Baxter forwarded a proposal to the General Assembly earlier today that would prevent judicial leave without pay from being counted as service credit time in calculating pensions. But there is no indication that Yashar, who has been receiving her full pension since last December, will be affected. Yashar had been on unpaid leave, beginning in February 2005, at her own request. Chief Judge Albert E. DeRobbio, who presides over the District Court and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal, declined to grant Yashar’s request to come back to work last June. Yashar’s arrest on a charge of domestic simple assault, her involvement in an automobile accident that she did not report and her conduct and attendance to her judicial duties were investigated last year by the state Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline. The Commission forwarded its report to the state Supreme Court, which publicly censured Yashar on Oct. 5, 2005. While Yashar was on unpaid leave in July, she reached her 65th birthday and her 20th anniversary of employment as a traffic judge. These milestones qualified her for a full pension under state law. Yashar retired from active service on Sept. 27, 2005, after returning to work for one day, following her eight-month unpaid leave. There was no arbitrary decision by any court official to grant Yashar something to which she was not entitled, according to the court. In Yashar’s case, the Judiciary simply applied the statutory language in calculating her time on the bench for pension purposes. Posted by Steve Peoples |
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