An attorney representing the justices asked the Third Department to reconsider the matter under a slightly new argument that it also impacted the justices pension benefits.
A divided five-judge panel found that Democrats engaged in gerrymandering in creating new district maps. The case is expected to head to New York’s highest court.
The New York County Courthouse in Manhattan. (Courthouse News photo/Adam Klasfeld)
(CN) The septuagenarian judges who sued New York court administrators over their forced retirement will indeed have to leave the bench, a panel of appellate judges ruled Tuesday.
In a 3-2 decision, the Third Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled that the court system did not violate the state constitution when it used pandemic-related budget cuts as a reason to deny recertification to judges older than 70.
While 70 is New York’s mandatory retirement age, judges can apply to stay on the bench until age 76, requesting recertification in two-year increments. Typically, recertification is granted as long as a judge is fit to serve.