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18
Dec 2008
Not quite ready for 'the pasture...'
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 9:51 PM | Comments
I talked with the retiring Chief Judge, John MacDonald, at the 35th District Court in Plymouth today.
His last official day is Jan. 1, when his successor, Jim Plakas, is sworn into office.
I was struck by one thing: how MacDonald didn’t look, act or talk a whole lot different than he did when I first met him, more than a decade ago.
MacDonald said he would happily run for office again—the problem is his age. Judges are prohibited from running for another term after they reach the age of 70. MacDonald turned 74 this week.
The law was made back in the 1960s, when people didn’t live as long as they are today. Knowing that the bench will lose a lot of experience when MacDonald—and others like him, such as Charles Bokos at the 19th District Court in Westland—are forced to step down, I wonder: is it time to revisit this restriction?
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