Vote no on Ohio Issue 1 There’s no compelling need for this constitutional amendment

Ohio needs many things, but is older judges one of them?

That’s the question a voter contemplating how to vote on state Issue 1 on the Nov. 8 ballot has to ask himself or herself.

Because if Issue 1 is approved, that will be the effect.

The Ohio Constitution currently prohibits a judge from running for a term if the judge would be 70 years old on or before the day he would take office. The proposed amendment prohibits a judge from taking office if the judge is older than 75 on or before the day of the election.

Because judicial terms in Ohio are for 6 years, the current law allows a judge to run for a new term as long as he will be one day younger than 76 on the day that term would end. Under the amendment, a judge could run for a new term that wouldn’t end until she was 82 years old.

Most judges in Ohio are experienced in both life and law and bring that experience to the bench. And, it’s said, with age comes wisdom. The present law allows for a suitable balance.

Life goes on

Those who support increasing the age say it is just a recognition that people are living longer and that other elected offices do not have age limits. But state legislative offices have term limits, something that judges do not. And, frankly, candidates for most other offices are forced to run more aggressive campaigns than those of judges, campaigns that would be more inclined to expose a candidate who was becoming too old for the job, regardless of the candidate’s specific age.

Even when campaigning, judges are prohibited by canon law from discussing some of the most important issues they face because to do so would presumably make them appear less than impartial in some cases.

The judiciary should be equally concerned that increasing the working age of elected judges to 82 might make some of the people sitting on the bench appear less than up to the demands of a sometimes a mentally grueling job.

If there is evidence that there aren’t enough pre-septuagenarian lawyers in practice who would fill the jobs being vacated by judges who are reaching the present retirement age, we haven’t heard it.

Timing is everything

It does not strike us as unreasonable for Ohio’s Constitution to encourage judges as they reach their three score and 10 to prepare to step aside. A retired judge of any age can still apply for assignment to cases, but obviously we’d expect the Supreme Court to take care that it assigns no judge beyond his or her time.

Amending Ohio’s Constitution should be done with care and out of necessity. We see no shortage of potential jurists in the state, and thus no need to change the law. Indeed, the amendment could well inhibit an upcoming generation of potential new jurists from seeking office because they would view incumbent judges as even more firmly ensconced in office.

The Vindicator urges a no vote on Issue 1.