NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A5304
SPONSOR: Dinowitz
 
TITLE OF BILL:
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 25 of article 6 of the constitution, in relation to service
by retired justices and requiring judges and justices to retire at age
76
 
PURPOSE:
To raise from seventy to seventy-six the maximum age judges or justices
of the court may constitutionally serve.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill amends subdivision b of section 25 of article 6
of the constitution to raise the age when a judge of the court of
appeals, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of claims,
judge of the county court, judge of the surrogate's court, judge of the
family court, judge of a court for the city of New York, and judge of
the district court must retire from the last day in December in the year
in which they turn seventy, to the year when they turn seventy-six.
Section two of the bill provides the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under the New York State Constitution, judges of the court of appeals,
justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of claims, judges of
the county court, judges of the surrogate's court, judges of the family
court, judges of a court for the city of New York, and judges of the
district court are required to retire no later than the end of the year
in which they turn seventy. This age was undoubtably chosen in part to
help ensure that those on the court were mentally and physically able
and competent to perform the full duties of the office and lessen the
risk of their suffering from cognitive and physical degeneration.
The retirement age of seventy is over 125 years old, going at least as
far back as 1894 when it was a part of New York's Constitution which was
adopted that year (Article VI, section 12 "No person shall hold the
office of Judge or Justice  
hereinbefore mentioned of any court longer
than until and including the last day of December next after he shall be
seventy years of age"). According to the June 27, 2016 Penn Wharton
Budget Model's "Mortality in the United States: Past, Present, And
Future" from the University of Pennsylvania, in 1900, the life expectan-
cy at birth in the United States was 47 years. Since then, we've seen
rapid advancements in technology and medicine that has increased the
likelihood that individuals seventy years of age and older have the
physical and mental capacity to perform at high levels. This is borne
out by the CDC's NCHS Data Brief "Mortality in the United States, 2019"
which reported that U.S. Life Expectancy increased in 2019 to 78.8
years, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic began.As such, the
reason to constitutionally limit judges and justices from serving beyond
seventy has less validity.
Amending New York's Constitution by increasing the age limit by six
years would recognize these advancements. This is especially crucial now
as we're suffering from a shortage of legal workers, including judges
and justices. Raising the retirement age for judges and justices will
help our courts stay healthy by allowing it to keep its most experienced
members.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill must pass two successive legislatures and then placed on the
ballot in a general election and would take effect if supported by a
majority of New York voters.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5304
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 7, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Judiciary
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY
proposing an amendment to section 25 of article 6 of the constitution,
in relation to service by retired justices and requiring judges and
justices to retire at age 76
1 Section 1. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That subdivision b of
2 section 25 of article 6 of the constitution be amended to read as
3 follows:
4 b. Each judge of the court of appeals, justice of the supreme court,
5 judge of the court of claims, judge of the county court, judge of the
6 surrogate's court, judge of the family court, judge of a court for the
7 city of New York established pursuant to section fifteen of this article
8 and judge of the district court shall retire on the last day of December
9 in the year in which he or she reaches the age of [seventy] seventy-six.
10 Each [such] former judge of the court of appeals and justice of the
11 supreme court may thereafter perform the duties of a justice of the
12 supreme court, with power to hear and determine actions and proceedings,
13 provided, however, that it shall be certificated in the manner provided
14 by law that the services of such judge or justice are necessary to expe-
15 dite the business of the court and that he or she is mentally and phys-
16 ically able and competent to perform the full duties of such office. Any
17 such certification shall be valid for a term of two years and may be
18 extended as provided by law for an additional term or terms of two years
19 in the manner provided by law. A retired judge or justice shall serve no
20 longer than until the last day of December in the year in which he or
21 she reaches the age of [seventy-six] eighty. A retired judge or justice
22 shall be subject to assignment by the appellate division of the supreme
23 court of the judicial department of his or her residence. Any retired
24 justice of the supreme court who had been designated to and served as a
25 justice of any appellate division immediately preceding his or her
26 reaching the age of [seventy] seventy-six shall be eligible for desig-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD89098-03-3
A. 5304 2
1 nation by the governor as a temporary or additional justice of the
2 appellate division. A retired judge or justice shall not be counted in
3 determining the number of justices in a judicial district for purposes
4 of subdivision d of section six of this article.
5 § 2. Resolved (if the Senate concur), That the foregoing be referred
6 to the first regular legislative session convening after the next
7 succeeding general election of members of the assembly, and, in conform-
8 ity with section 1 of article 19 of the constitution, be published for 3
9 months previous to the time of such election.