Relates to the mandatory retirement age of judges and justices

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why the sponsor says this is needed

Under the New York State Constitution, judges of the court of appeals, justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of claims, judges of the county court, judges of the surrogate's court, judges of the family court, judges of a court for the city of New York, and judges of the district court are required to retire no later than the end of the year in which they turn seventy. This age was undoubtably chosen in part to help ensure that those on the court were mentally and physically able and competent to perform the full duties of the office and lessen the risk of their suffering from cognitive and physical degeneration. The retirement age of seventy is over 125 years old, going at least as far back as 1894 when it was a part of New York's Constitution which was adopted that year (Article VI, section 12 "No person shall hold the office of Judge or Justice HEREINBEFORE MENTIONED of any court longer than until and including the last day of December next after he shall be seventy years of age"). According to the June 27, 2016 Penn Wharton Budget Model's "Mortality in the United States: Past, Present, And Future" from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1900, the life expectan- cy at birth in the United States was 47 years. Since then, we've seen rapid advancements in technology and medicine that has increased the likelihood that individuals seventy years of age and older have the physical and mental capacity to perform at high levels. This is borne out by the CDC's NCHS Data Brief "Mortality in the United States, 2019" which reported that U.S. Life Expectancy increased in 2019 to 78.8 years, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic began.As such, the reason to constitutionally limit judges and justices from serving beyond seventy has less validity. Amending New York's Constitution by increasing the age limit by six years would recognize these advancements. This is especially crucial now as we're suffering from a shortage of legal workers, including judges and justices. Raising the retirement age for judges and justices will help our courts stay healthy by allowing it to keep its most experienced members.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.