Attorneys with Jones Day, representing California’s Judicial Council, said in court documents filed Monday that a group of retired judges has no grounds for suing over changes to the state’s assigned judges program.

The Judicial Council and Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye were acting in a “legislative” capacity in May 2018 when they placed a retroactive 1,320-day lifetime cap on retired judges who serve as judicial substitutes around the state, Jones Day labor and employment partner Robert Naeve said in the court papers. The doctrine of legislative immunity shields the defendants from the suit filed by eight retired judges, Naeve argued.