Loading...
R9 K Salary Presentation 2019 Feb Edits 2ndIf you’re an Assistant State Attorney, YOU CANNOT SURVIVE IN MIAMI 1 Katherine Fernandez Rundle State Attorney Miami, Florida - 2019 Being an ASA in Miami •According to a Miami Herald Report, Miami is one of the least affordable housing markets for recent grads. •A study released in 2016 by Investopedia found that Miami is one of the top 10 most expensive cities to live in the United States and the only southern US City on the list. •A law school graduate from Florida State University can expect debt of over $67k and a University of Miami School of Law graduate can expect tuition debt exceeding $154k. This is for in-state schools and does not include housing. 2 Being an ASA in Miami •A starting ASA in Miami earns $41,500 per year. •With the high cost of housing and the extraordinary debt just out of law school, it is no wonder we cannot retain our prosecutors. •Those who do join us right out of law school are likely to leave, especially when they start families, despite loving what they do and wanting to be career prosecutors. •Attrition for ASAs is running at approximately 23% or 80 lawyers a year, the size of a medium to large law firm. 3 Comparison of Public Salaries in Miami Position Starting Salary Educational Requirements Miami Beach Police Officer $54,697 HS Clinical Nurse I $51,275 BA & RN School Teacher $47,662 BA Miami-Dade Police Officer $45,929 HS Assistant State Attorney $41,500 Juris Doctor Highway Patrol Trooper $38,976 HS/GED Correctional Officer $35,195 HS/GED 4 Comparison of Public Service Attorney Salaries in Miami 5 Position Starting Salary Educational Requirements County Attorney’s Office $80,000 Juris Doctor Fed. Prosecutor w/ Locality Pay $63,909 Juris Doctor Legal Advisor – Miami Dade Police $57,116 Juris Doctor MDCPS Attorney’s Office $65,000 Juris Doctor Attorney General’s Office $51,627 Juris Doctor Legal Services of Greater Miami $52,000 Juris Doctor Assistant Statewide Prosecutor $51,355 Juris Doctor Assistant State Attorney $41,500 Juris Doctor The Loss of Experience is a Serious Impediment to the Administration of Justice 6 The Florida Tax Watch •In 2004, The Florida Tax Watch released a research paper recommending targeted salary increases for prosecutors and public defenders to reduce turnover. It pointed out that the cost of replacing attorneys due to inadequate pay was higher than it would be to increase starting salaries. At the time, turn over was at about 11%. •Ten years later, in 2014, they released another report titled ‘When It Costs More to Pay Less’ and stressed that the low pay contributes to high turnover and delays in judicial processing, costing taxpayers more than $15 million annually versus $5.2 million if starting salaries were increased to $50,000. •Yet here we are in 2019 having the same conversation while we experience a much higher turn over rate, now at 23%. 7 Consequences •ASA turnover due to inadequate pay has serious consequences. It delays justice and threatens public safety. •Because of attrition, 13 of the 20 First degree and Life Felony prosecutors assigned to these courts, handling attempted murders and violent crimes with firearms, have been in these positions less than six months. 8 Locality Pay for ASA’s in South Florida •Assistant State Attorneys are not provided a locality pay salary supplement even though the cost of living in our jurisdiction is much higher than other parts of our state and our nation. •The federal government provides their employees a 22.64% locality pay salary additive for the Miami – Ft. Lauderdale area. For a starting federal prosecutor, that is over $11,000 per year. •Florida Highway Patrol Officers and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents both receive $5,000 per year more for work in Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee and Monroe Counties. 9 Where Are Our ASA’s Going? Public Agency and Position Salary Raise Amount Miami-Dade County Attorney’s Office $40,000 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement $30,000 Broward Asst. County Attorney $11,000 Fla. Asst. Statewide Pros. (Start $55k) $6,000 Miami-Dade Inspector Gen. $6,000 Counsel for the Florida Bar $11,000 Legal Advisor – Broward Sheriff $10,000 Legal Advisor – Miami-Dade PD $10,000 Florida Department of Law Enforcement $26,000 Social Security Administration $20,000 Florida Attorney General $9,000 US Attorney’s Office $25,000 Federal Bureau of Investigations $13,000 Recently we have lost ASAs to: 10 What does the loss of a prosecutor mean to a citizen who has been victimized? •You have had five or six different lawyers handling your case with each lawyer having to learn a new file to prepare for trial and with you having to relive the murder of your loved one with a new lawyer each time. •Justice is delayed – Victims and witnesses become frustrated by delays, witness memory fades, witnesses move, and continuity and confidence are lost. 11 In Conclusion 12 •The high cost of housing and law school debt for Miami- Dade ASA’s makes it difficult to retain starting attorneys at $41,500. •Add to that the lack of locality pay salary additives offered by other agencies with already higher starting salaries •It’s no wonder we lose nearly one-fifth of our ASA’s each year to other agencies, the size of a large firm. •The loss of experience is a serious impediment in the administration of justice in Miami-Dade County. •Do not Put Citizens at Risk!