Life Tenure: An Article III Judge's Version of a Death Sentence

Life tenure, which is implicitly granted through Article III, is one of the most unique features of the Constitution. However, some commentators, including judges themselves, have found that many of the problems associated with Article III judges can be attributed to age and the brain’s susceptibility to cognitive related diseases. As more Article III judges stay on the bench into extreme old age, the natural result of mental decline becomes more prevalent and is increasingly difficult to avoid due to an Article III judge’s right to life tenure.

Over the years, Congress and the judiciary have attempted to confront problems associated with aging Article III judges by providing judges with enticing retirement incentives. Nevertheless, as one Justice noted, “[w]ith the size of the federal judiciary steadily on the rise, and with advances in medical technology making it possible to survive disabilities that would have been fatal in earlier days, the delicate question of whether a judge has (or in the past had) the mental capacity to sit will become increasingly troublesome.”