New York judges must retire at 76
New York judges will be removed from the bench at age 76 after the state’s highest court on Thursday rejected claims that the rule amounts to age discrimination.
The Court of Appeals dismissed a challenge from three veteran judges to an 1869 law setting mandatory retirement at 76, ruling it does not violate the state’s Equal Rights Amendment. Judges must retire at 70 but can remain for up to six additional years if they are recertified every two years.
New York’s constitution originally set retirement at 60 when adopted in 1777.
The judges challenging the cap said they are being “arbitrarily” forced out solely because of age. Retired appellate judge David Saxe, one of the plaintiffs, noted that there are no similar age limits for governors or legislators and called the ruling “an unnecessarily narrow and unimaginative decision.”
Chief Judge Rowan Wilson and Judge Madeline Singas did not take part in the decision.
