Section 4: Salaries; practice of law; expenses; vacation and sick leave; special justices
Section 4. The salaries of the justices of the trial court shall be paid by the commonwealth. Each associate justice shall receive a salary of $207,855.
The chief justice of the several departments shall receive a salary of $213,966.
The chief justice of the trial court shall receive a salary of $220,160.
The justices of the trial court shall devote their entire time during business hours to their respective duties and shall not, directly or indirectly, engage in the practice of law.
The justices of the trial court shall receive from the commonwealth, in addition to the salary hereinbefore provided, the amount of expenses, including travel incurred by them in the discharge of their duties. Such expenses must be accounted for upon an itemized statement to the chief justices of the respective court departments. Such expenses shall be approved and certified by said chief justices.
Each justice shall be entitled to thirty days vacation leave, twenty days sick leave, and five days personal leave in each calendar year. Each justice shall also be provided with fifteen days education leave in each calendar year except in the first year of service, when said justice shall be provided with twenty days education leave prior to assuming the duties of justice. Vacation leave and sick leave not used in any such year may be accumulated, provided that the number of vacation days so accumulated shall not exceed sixty and the total amount of sick leave not exceed one hundred and eighty days, except as provided herein. A justice of the trial court appointed to any judicial office before July first, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven shall be credited with accrued vacation leave and sick leave with respect to each year of such prior judicial service at the rate and subject to the limitations set forth in this paragraph, except that the rate for crediting said sick leave shall be thirty days for each calendar year. The chief justice of the trial court is hereby authorized to establish and administer a paid sick leave bank for the benefit of the justices, which bank shall be comprised of vacation leave days, sick leave days and personal leave days accrued and donated by said justices. Each qualifying justice shall also be provided with maternity leave for the same period and upon the same terms and conditions as management and confidential employees of the commonwealth.
Special justices of the trial court shall be subject to the provisions of section six A of chapter two hundred and eighteen and such other provisions of law as are applicable to special justices in the district court department. Special justices who serve full time under the provisions of said section six A shall have all the powers, duties, rights and responsibilities held by associate justices of the trial court, except those who hold the office of chief justice or chief justice of the trial court.