« Ind. Law - ISBA Annual meeting Oct. 4-6 at Indianapolis Marriott Downtown | Main | Law - Attorney who made a fortune in a multibillion dollar Texas tobacco settlement spends big at Auburn auction »

Monday, September 04, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Means, 77, to continue as judge"

The South Bend Tribune has a story today by Marti Goodlad Heline headed "Means, 77, to continue as judge: He says age is no barrier to doing his job." Some quotes:

SOUTH BEND -- St. Joseph Superior Court Judge William T. Means says he's not ready to hang up his robe.

So at age 77, Means has declared he is running for another six-year term on the Superior Court. It will be his fourth time on the ballot.The experienced jurist, who celebrated his 20th anniversary on the bench in March, said he gave considerable thought as to whether the time had come "to pass the torch."

"I still look forward to meeting the daily challenges required by the job," Means said. * * *

His doctors told him there are no health reasons he should not continue to work if he wishes, Means added.

A couple of reasons, the judge said, led to his decision to seek another term.

One is related to the upcoming retirement of Superior Court Judge William H. Albright on Sept. 30.

If Means were to retire at the end of December, he said it would result in a 25 percent turnover of the eight Superior Court judges within four months.

"I am of the opinion that there should be a more staggered transition for the sake of continuity, if nothing else," Means said. "And if re-elected, I would plan to stay on sufficiently long to offer aid and support to help Judge Albright's successor."

The process of choosing Albright's replacement begins this week when the eight applicants are interviewed by the court's Judicial Nominating Commission.

Means also said it would be extremely unfair to give his "very supportive and able" staff just four months to plan their futures if he chose to retire at the end of the year.

A new judge may ask the staff to remain, Means said, but "any new judge has every right to pick his or her own staff."

Means has no mandatory retirement age to worry about in St. Joseph County.

There is a state-mandated retirement age of 75 for judges on the Indiana Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.

Many Indiana counties have a retirement age of 70 for Superior Court judges, according to Chief St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John M. Marnocha, president of the Indiana Judges Association.

But other counties, like St. Joseph, have no retirement age.

The requirement usually means a judge cannot begin a new term after reaching the specified age, Marnocha said. But if a judge reaches that age in the middle of a term, the judge can complete the term. [But see note below]

Superior Court Judge Jerome Frese, also up for another term, will be 71 at the time of November's election.

Superior Court judges run for retention every six years in a nonpartisan referendum. Citizens are asked to vote "yes' or "no" whether the judge should serve another term.

No St. Joseph County judge has ever been turned back in the 30 years that system has been in place.

Note: Re the statement "if a judge reaches that age in the middle of a term, the judge can complete the term." This may be true for county courts, but the ILB does not believe it to be true for Supreme Court justices and Court of Appeals judges. Article 7, section 11 of the Indiana Constitution includes this provision:
Every such justice or judge shall retire at the age specified by statute in effect at the commencement of his current term.
The age currently specified by statute (IC 33-38-13-8) is seventy-five:
(a) Every justice of the supreme court and judge of the court of appeals shall retire at seventy-five (75) years of age.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the supreme court may authorize retired justices and judges to perform temporary judicial duties in any state
court.
Or course, if you are president of Purdue, you must retire at age 65, for heaven's sake.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 4, 2006 02:18 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts