Court blocks perks for judges

In a practice critics called a waste of taxpayer money, Los Angeles County has violated the state constitution for years by paying judges perks and supplemental benefits over their state salaries, a state appeals court has ruled. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.

The justices wrote that the state constitution requires the Legislature to set judges' pay - and the Board of Supervisors' practice of paying judges an extra $46,436 annually in cash benefits is "not permissible." They sent the matter back to Superior Court.

The case was filed by Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. The ruling was made Friday by a three-judge panel of the state's 4th District Court of Appeal.