GOP bill aims to set age limits for Wisconsin judges, justices

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A legislative committee held a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would set an age limit for judges and Supreme Court justices across Wisconsin.

The Republican-authored bill would establish no judge or justice could be appointed or elected as a judge if they are 75 years or older at the time of that election or appointment.

If the bill is to become law, supporters will have to overcome opposition from both Democrats, as well as some previously skeptical Republicans.

The bill's lead author, State Rep. Brett Jacobson (R-Mosinee), testified before the Assembly Committee on State Affairs, and he said the bill was one way to keep people from hanging onto power for too long.

"This legislation meets growing public desire for the torch to be passed to the next generation of leaders," Jacobson told lawmakers.

Critics of the bill maintain the measure would amount to age discrimination. State Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) criticized the proposal during Tuesday's hearing.

"I'm 65. I would hope at 75, I'm not too old to do anything," she told Jacobson. "Because that's the way you make it sound."

Jacobson also noted his time as a lawyer outside of politics. He told the committee that work has made him believe the demands of a judge become too much at a certain age.

"I've argued before the Court of Appeals, and I've argued before the state Supreme Court," Jacobson said. "It's a taxing, demanding job. It requires extreme critical analysis."

Reviews by both Ballotpedia and the Brennan Center at New York University have found 29 states, including Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota, currently have strict age limits for judges. Those age limits range between 70 and 90 years of age.

Two other states, Arkansas and North Dakota, allow judges to stay on the bench, but after a certain age, they must give up their retirement benefits in order to continue.

"Thirty-one other states have already done this," Jacobson said. "And actually, we're being even more generous than some other states that are at 70 years of age."

Wisconsin previously had an age limit of 70 for its judges. Then, voters in 1977 approved an amendment to the state constitution allowing the Legislature to set an age limit as opposed to automatically having one.

"This is something that was put forward almost 50 years ago, and suddenly now, they're bringing it forward?" Sinicki said. "I can't help but think there's something more to this, and they haven't figured out what that is yet."

Republicans passed a judicial age limits bill in November 2023. While the Assembly passed the bill 53-44, nine Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the measure. The bill died in the Senate later that session.

At the time, Democrats questioned whether the bill was aimed at liberal Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who hadn't announced at the time whether she'd seek re-election in 2025. Bradley ended up retiring, and Susan Crawford maintained the liberal majority on the high court when she won a high-stakes race for control of the court last April.

"I highly doubt that bill was intended to target her," Jacobson said of Bradley. "And I think bringing it back again this session makes it clear that it wasn't intended to target her."

The oldest current member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is Janet Protasiewicz at 63. If Wisconsin set age limits at 75, she'd still be eligible to run for a second 10-year term in 2033.

CBS 58 reached out to Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, as well as the county's two deputy chief judges, to see if they have a position on the bill. The judges did not immediately respond Tuesday.