A handful of Pennsylvania state trial court judges have recently filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the commonwealth’s current judicial retirement age of 70. The suits, which argue that the retirement age should be struck down under both the federal and Pennsylvania constitutions, raise interesting issues and could have a significant impact on the composition of Pennsylvania’s highest court if they were to succeed.
As The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, Pennsylvania’s current judicial retirement age is slated to create five vacancies on the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania between now and 2020. The first member of the court to be affected will be Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille, who will turn 70 in 2014.
