to increase the retirement age for state justices and judges

Senate Committee on Judiciary and Labor (JDL) - chair: Clayton Hee, vice chair: Maile S.L. Shimabukuro

Tuesday, January 29, 2013, 9:30 A.M.. Conference Room 016

Testifier: Jean Aoki, Legislative Committee, LWV of Hawaii

Click here to view SB886

Chair Hee, Vice-Chair Shimabukuro, and Committee Members: The League of Women Voters of Hawaii strongly supports SB886 increasing the mandatory retirement age for justices and judges from 70 to 80 years of age. With the average life span of human beings increasing, the mandatory retirement age of 70 years has deprived our state of the continued services of many leaders who were really at their peak, capable of many more years in their respective positions. We realize that judgeships demand mental alertness, and know that the Judiciary is very much aware of this and has processes in place to deal with it. If the mandatory retirement age is increased, we would expect that the Judiciary would tighten their monitoring processes. With an increase in the mandatory retirement age to 80, making the judgeship the culmination of one's career could be a consideration for many of our successful attorneys. We urge the adoption of SB886. Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.