Mentally competent judges are something all litigants are entitled to. New Hampshire’s state constitution has declared since 1792 that judges, including those who serve on the Supreme Court, must retire at age 70. Today, many people believe “70 is the new 60.
” In other words, forcing members of our judiciary to retire prematurely when they still have much to contribute isn’t fair. If you turned over your ballot during last Tuesday’s General Election, you would have found Question 1 at the bottom: Are you in favor of amending Article 78 of the second part of the constitution to read as follows: [Art.] 78.
[Judges and Sheriffs, When Disqualified by Age.] No person shall hold the office of sheriff of any county after the person has attained the age of seventy years. No person shall hold the office of judge of any court after the person has attained the age of seventy-five years.
If the proposed amendment was approved by 2/3 of those voting on the amendment, it would become effective when the governor proclaimed its adoption. I voted in favor. However, the measure narrowly failed, according to the latest figures released late Friday afternoon.
I’ve seen different numbers from various news outlets, but I’m going by one of the best in the industry, veteran newsman Kevin Landrigan at the NH Union Leader: “The 452,031 to 237,105 margin came up just 10,700 short of reaching that level at 65.1%.” Age limits for judges vary across the country, and each state sets its m.