Three retired California state court judges have sued the Judicial Council of California and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye claiming that changes to the state’s assigned judges program, which uses retired jurists to fill judicial needs across the state, amount to illegal age discrimination.

Retired Orange County Superior Court Judges Glenn Mahler and James Poole and retired Alameda County Superior Judge Julie Conger filed suit Thursday, claiming that a new 1,320-day cap on service in the program disadvantages older judges who must apply for exceptions to the new lifetime limit. All three of the plaintiffs have already served more than 1,500 days in the program, according to the complaint.