Washington City Paper: Contents for Jan. 12

The Imperial Court
How D.C.'s courts lead a life of privilege amid citywide financial ruin

Cover Story

Imagine never having to look for parking. You drive to work every day, park for free in a covered garage, and are whisked by private elevator to a spacious office, complete with kitchenette and private loo. Minions fetch fresh towels and ferry you to important meetings. You make six very attractive figures a year, with six weeks of paid vacation, unlimited sick leave, and you go on numerous junkets to exotic locales. Add to the fantasy a generous pension plan that allows you to retire from this plum job while you're still young enough to tie flies, raise children, or start an entirely new career. Now imagine that you are an employee of the District government.

As a Superior or Appellate Court judge in the District of Columbia, membership has its privileges. Your salary and budget may come from District funds, but the mayor can't tell you what to do—as a matter of fact, you make more money than he does. As a jurist in District courts, you sit atop a very privileged food chain, working in a court system that is well-financed and unencumbered by even routine oversight.

The D.C. courts are an oasis of fiscal stability in a city where police officers struggle to find yellow crime-scene tape and public-health clinics lack basic vaccinations. While other city employees struggle to make due amidst grinding financial chaos, the courts have new computers, money in the bank, and the kind of stability that allows for planning and innovation. Even if you don't wear a robe, life is sweet in the D.C. courts; there have been no city-imposed furloughs or cuts in pay for anyone lucky enough to work at the courthouse.... Continued

Issue of Jan. 12 - 18, 1996

News and Features

The Imperial Court
How D.C.'s courts lead a life of privilege amid citywide financial ruin
Cover Story By Stephanie Mencimer
Poor Image
Fund-Raising Events May Be Lacking in Charity
The City By John Cloud
Do Not Attempt to Change That Dial
Metro Networks Airs Its Newscasts on 10 D.C. Radio Stations. Does It Monopolize Local Radio News?
The City By Randall Bloomquist
Old-Time Music, Old-Time Stories
The Mail By Ray Schmitt
Representation Without Commendation
The Mail By Jack H. Olender
Police Farce
The Mail By Bill Crews
Wolf Whistles
The Mail By P.T. "Pops" Camm