There have been stories in the best of infirm justices barely keeping their bench warm and their clerks basically taking over as the justice. For purely practical reasons I’ve always felt their should be a mandatory retirement age.
Yes. Marshall for instance,
One problem with this is that chronological age has little to do with how physically or mentally fit a person is. Some people are sharp and active into their nineties; others are infirm and “barely keeping their bench warm” long, long before that.
Another issue would be that this raises the incentive for presidents to appoint younger justices.
So let me get this straight:
“Liberals” now think that it would be a good idea for a system whereby Donald J. Trump would be appointing a successor to Elena Kagan in 2020, simply because 10 years have ticked off the clock? A system where if Trump manages 2 terms and is followed by President Pence for another term or two, the vast majority of justices would have been appointed by Republican Presidents? All this hand-wringing over lifetime appointments because the Republicans are the ones currently making appointments?
Ah, the solution du jour. :rolleyes: