Legislation aimed at raising retirement age for Virginia judges dies in committee

January 12th, 2012

Virginia: A bill that sought to increase the mandatory retirement age for Virginia judges by three years to 73 died in the House Courts of Justice subcommittee on January 20th. A 4-4 tie halted the measure from moving out of committee. Democratic Delegate Patrick Hope, who introduced the bill, supported the measure stating: “Mandatory judicial retirement is based on the outdated assumption that increasing age carries with it declining intellectual ability. The truth is, the legislature needs to do a better job of making sure judges on the bench are competent, and not rely on an artificial trigger that really has nothing to do with performance.” Supporters are talking about bringing the bill back later in the legislative session.

See also

• Virginia judicial news