Let's be fair.

There are many Federal Judges who work long, long past retirement age. Sure, pride and prestige probably play roles, but let's not forget about a genuine commitment to justice and simple patriotism as motives. Article III judges are, almost without exception, extraordinarily capable attorneys. Any of them could easily pull down double their government salary, triple it, or more. They choose not to.

Many of the judges hang on long past retirement age, and once they do retire many go onto senior status and keep hearing cases. That takes some commitment, and it takes a genuine love for the job.

I cannot condone this jerks actions, and I wish that he would step down. I don't think his decision to stay on demonstrates a hell of a lot of integrity. But I'm not going to impugn his motives for staying past retirement age.

Mike, please remember SCOTUS justices actually have said they waited to retire until they had a president who mirrored their world views. I don't think it's a far-fetched idea to question a judge who was brazen and stupid enough to email a nasty racist joke about the president. The mere fact that he was so blatantly stupid makes me question simple competency.

I was mostly commenting on the clout and prestige part of the argument.

I don't doubt that there are quite a few judges who wait to retire because they want their replacement to reflect their vision of what the law is and should be. That's true on both sides of the political divide. I think that caring about the views of your replacement reflects an overall commitment to the cause of the law and the justice system.

I don't agree with the views of the conservatives who take that route, but I was happy to have committed jurists waiting for a Democratic POTUS. I'm not going to turn around and bemoan it he same thing from the right.

<<Highlighting mine>>

I agree impeachment is the only allowed manner for removal of a federal judge. I was curious of my "lessor standard" comment and the IAAL responses. Gerald Ford's comment about the definition of impeachment was as loose as it could get.


If my memory serves me correctly, Ford was attempting to impeach Associate Justice William O. Douglas during this time.

The concept of retirement age being 62, 65, or 67 is obsolete. The only place where it is justified is for people who have worked back-breaking jobs for most of their lives or for people who are becoming mentally disabled. The generation now in college will be the first American generation to include a substantial number of persons aged 100 and older; this trend is already seen in countries where the fertility rate fell earlier than in the U.S., such as Japan.

Population Pyramid Projected -- Japan, 2055


Most Americans now working will work well past that presumed retirement age, and many of them will do a fine job of it. That is a consequence of our lengthening life span and of advances in geriatric medicine. Retirement is not all that attractive to people who love their jobs. In fact, the risk of death rises in the first year after retirement, perhaps partially because some people hate being retired.

I know that some people have viewed the Social Security "full retirement" age (which is moving upwards) as their inalienable right, bought and paid for in advance. I don't think this is very common among professionals.

Mandatory retirement is now deemed to be illegal age discrimination in the U.S. EEOC: Mandatory Retirement Policy Violates Age Discrimination Act

Some of our finest minds belong to people born 80 or more years ago. Thomas C. Schelling, born in 1921, retired from Harvard in 1990 and then joined the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland as Distinguished Professor. His contributions to the theory of cooperation and conflict are fundamental to the field, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2005. I expect and hope that he will go until he drops.

Stephen Hawking, born in 1942, is no longer the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge; he founded the University's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology and funds the Centre from the Stephen Hawking Trust Fund, while remaining scientifically active in the Centre. He is a father who is now totally paralyzed from a disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. I expect and hope that he also goes until he drops. The world would lose a great mind if he retired and were no longer scientifically productive.

There is a social problem created by this: young people are having trouble moving up in their jobs and, in some cases, even getting jobs. The senior ranks appear to them to be occupied by old farts who will not leave. This is a problem that organizations could resolve; it is not a Federal problem. It would help for American corporations not to be so rigidly hierarchical, but that would require rethinking the corporation as a matrix rather than as a flow chart of authority.

9th Circuit Committee Appointed to Investigate Ethics Complaints over Judge’s Racist Email

Posted Apr 6, 2012 11:13 AM CDT


remainder:
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/ ... ist_email/


Since the judge reported himself and 'apologized', I think they'll be lenient.

There's still this though:



http://www.greatfallstribune.com/articl ... ll-s-email


http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-a ... ede5e.html

Richard Cebull, Montana Judge, Steps Down After Sending Racist Obama Email

By MATT VOLZ 10/04/12 07:00 PM ET EDT

HELENA, Mont. -- The chief federal judge for Montana plans to step down from the post and take a reduced caseload next year after forwarding a racist joke involving President Barack Obama.

U.S. Courts spokeswoman Karen Redmond said Thursday U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull of Billings will take senior status March 18.

That means he'll vacate his position as chief judge for the state and allow the president to appoint a replacement. Cebull will take a reduced caseload but will still draw a salary and can keep a staff.

Redmond says she can't comment on whether the move is related to the email that Cebull has acknowledged forwarding to a half-dozen people Feb. 20. The judge didn't return a call seeking comment.

more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/0 ... 41243.html

Yay! Of course it still chaps me that this idiot will still draw a salary and have a staff. But his replacement can choose to lighten his caseload to about zero, effectively removing him from doing much harm. What a fool.

Cebull was born in 1944 and appointed in 2001. I suspect the "Rule of 80" may be the motivating factor.

Yes, sometimes taking senior status can be very convenient.

Unlike many federal judges, who remain competent to handle a full or nearly full caseload by designation, I hope this judge's retirement is complete. I also believe any nonwhite litigant before him has cause to move for recusal.