OPINION: Raise the judges’ retirement age now
Most judges in New York must retire at age 70, although they can get extensions allowing them to serve to 76. The mandatory retirement age was set in 1869 — when an American child had a life expectancy at birth of about 40. Now it’s close to 80.
New York voters have an opportunity to change this antiquated rule this year, with a constitutional amendment that is long overdue.
It’s a smart change not only because time, diet, lifestyles, and advances in medicine have redefined our notion of old age. It’s also a smart move for New York’s judicial system.