Chief Justice urges change to let elected circuit judges serve as senior judges after election losses

Chief Justice Fader testified before the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 428 would allow circuit court judges who have won at least one election to sit in senior status even if they later lose an election. "House Bill 428 would allow judges to sit in senior status if they had won at least 1 election in the in the past," Fader told the panel, urging the committee to remove a provision that currently bars judges who lost from later serving as senior judges.

Fader said senior judges are "a critical resource" who help keep courts functioning and that many judges avoid running for reelection because losing could forever bar them from returning in senior status. He told lawmakers senior judges supply experienced manpower, can sit across jurisdictions and free up active judges to manage heavy dockets.

Committee members asked how the senior certification process works and how often judges are recertified. Fader described a multi-step certification handled by the administrative judge and noted recertification every three years in his court. Members also asked whether a medical fitness test is required; Fader said certification relies on peer assessments from administrative judges and continuing judicial education rather than formal medical testing.

The bill does not change the retirement age for judges; rather, it changes eligibility for senior-service assignments. The committee closed the HB 428 hearing after members discussed procedural questions about implementation.

The committee will consider whether to move the bill forward and whether to pair any eligibility changes with additional safeguards on recertification and workload assignments.