Former Isabella County District Court judge files lawsuit over age restrictions
'Old Lives Matter'
A former Isabella County District Court judge wants two words removed from the Michigan Constitution — age 70.
Judge Peter O'Connell, of Mount Pleasant, is suing the state for age discrimination in an attempt to get his name on the upcoming ballot. After it was dismissed in March, the Court of Appeals has ordered the age-discrimination lawsuit back to the Michigan Court of Claims for consideration.
O’Connell will be 70 when his six-year term is up in 2019, making him ineligible to run for re-election in the 4th District, according to state law. Thirty-three states have mandatory retirement ages set in place for judges as of December 2015.
The Michigan Constitution states judges cannot seek re-election once they turn 70. The restriction was added in 1955.
O'Connell said his goal is to win the suit and get the law, which he called legally and morally wrong, changed.
"As of now, I think I'm the spokesman for the baby boomer generation," he said. "There will be 70 million of us shortly. This is the first year the baby boomers turn 70 and there's going to be more and more age discrimination. I'm a little ahead of the curve, but you're going to see a lot more age discrimination."
O'Connell mentioned several 70-year-old politicians such as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders who are able to continue their work without age restrictions.
"Why is it the judges are the only ones who have an age restriction?" he said. "I'm eligible to be appointed to Justice (Antonin) Scalia's seat, but I can't run for judge in Michigan."
Twenty-four Michigan judges were unable to seek re-election due to the age restriction during the 2014 election, according to state Supreme Court documents.
