PENNLIVE COLUMN: …Rep. Kate Harper, R-Montgomery, is behind a push to update the state constitution to raise the mandatory retirement age for judges to 75. She believes it would make serving on the bench more attractive to lawyers, especially women lawyers who don’t consider running for judgeships until later in life, and give citizens the benefit of having seasoned jurists deciding court cases.
Lynn Marks, executive director for Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts, said her organization was initially neutral on this change but has come around to thinking it would be “the correct step from a good government perspective” and far better than another idea that had surfaced of eliminating mandatory retirement ages for judges all together.
“It makes sense to have a cut off since older judges are most at risk of becoming incompetent,” Marks said. “Setting a specific age for retirement reduces the need for discipline that embarrasses judges and threatens public confidence in the courts.” … (more)
EDITOR: Our Bill Keising is preparing a short series on the age limit for judges. We hope to publish the first section by tho weekend.
