Judge will run if age limit changes

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

At least one judge plans to take advantage of the opportunity to seek election again if voters decide this fall to raise the age limit for Ohio judges.

For decades, the state has allowed people up to age 70 to be elected or appointed to the bench, but a proposed constitutional amendment slated for the November ballot and backed by the Ohio State Bar Association would raise that limit by several years, allowing candidates to run through age 75.

Supporters of the change say people are living longer now, but opponents have raised concerns about whether older judges could stay sharp in their work. Ohio has more than 700 sitting judges from the municipal level to the top state level, according to the Ohio Supreme Court, and 22 of them are over 70 and can’t run for re-election, The Blade in Toledo reported Sunday.

Ohio is among 32 states that limit judges’ ages, and the state would join neighboring Michigan and Indiana in the group of eight that set the limit at 75 if the proposed amendment is approved, The Blade said. There are no age limits for other types of elected officials in Ohio or for federal judges.

Among those potentially affected by the proposal change is Judge Peter Handwork of the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals in Toledo, who turns 70 in December and says he’ll run again in 2012 if the proposal passes, the newspaper reported.

“The fact that this is being examined by the Legislature and has now made it to the ballot is an indication that many people think this is necessary,” Handwork said. “I have no reason to disagree. People are living longer, are more active, and staying interested in things. You shouldn’t say that just because someone reaches a particular age that they’re no longer qualified.”

Handwork, who has not faced an election opponent since he first ran for the appellate court in 1982, knows the proposal could leave some legal officials waiting longer for their own turns on the bench.

“They’ll get their opportunity,” he said. “By the way, they could run against me.”

The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association has opposed changing the age limit, arguing that the existing restrictions work and that lawyers might be reluctant to point out concerns if they suspect an older judge overseeing their cases has become unable to do the job well.

But some argue older judges often have the asset of experience.

“There’s a learning curve to being a good judge, even if you’ve been a lawyer for 25 years,” said Rep. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, who sponsored the resolution on the issue. “Is the public losing a value in the judiciary by forcing people to retire?”