Bransten v. State

DILLON, J. (concurring).

Contributions by the State of New York toward the cost of health care insurance premiums provided to the judges and justices of the Unified Court System are part of the paid "compensation" that falls within the protective provisions of the State Constitution, article VI, § 25(a) (the Compensation Clause). For reasons set forth below, the Compensation Clause would be irrelevant to the State's health care insurance contributions if the controlling constitutional language merely guaranteed that no judicial "salary" be diminished during jurists' terms in office. However,…