‘Rule of Necessity’ Could Be Invoked in N.Y. Judicial Pay Suits

The six associate judges of New York's highest court, expected to recuse themselves in cases where the outcome affects them personally, now face the prospect of invoking a "rule of necessity" to consider whether they and the state's other judges must be given a raise. The Court of Appeals has determined there is an appeal as of right in two judicial pay cases. But if the court is disqualified from hearing the issues involved, there apparently would be no other forum to resolve them, leaving the litigants in limbo.