Lex Anteinternet: Lex Anteinternet: A legal Gerontocracy?

The bill discussed here:

Lex Anteinternet: Lex Anteinternet: A legal Gerontocracy?: Like a vampire from a movie, the topic I wrote about last legislative session here, is back again: Lex Anteinternet: A legal Gerontocrac...

failed again.

I'd like to hope that this bill stays dead, which it deserves to, but it probably won't.  Like a host of other bills in recent legislatures, bills that have been failing recently tend to come right back the next session.  It might almost be worth considering a rule that precludes repeat failures from being introduced in successive sessions.  This session, I'd note, the bill turned out to have next to no support whatsoever.

This bill has some particularly troubling aspects to it, one of which is that it darned near amounts to special legislation in that those introducing it keep referring specifically to one single Wyoming Supreme Court justice. That he's doing well and capable of keeping on keeping on does not mean, of course, that everyone is.  Some brilliant lawyers have minds that fail in their 60s or 70s.  If we experience that, and at some point we will, what are we to do?  We can't legislatively remove a single justice absent impeachment, which seems a might bad way to conclude a distinguished career.

Indeed it might be worth noting that this year has not been a good one in our state's history for the fate of older, brilliant, men.  Things don't always go well for everyone. We know, from the example of the United States Supreme Court that older justices often feel duty bound to stay, with it sometimes being the case that they steadfastly believe that they are the best possible occupant of the post, or alternatively, like DeGaulle, "apres mois, le deluge".  In real, and admirable, contrast, we've had one very long serving Circuit Court judge step down this past year specifically noting that he wanted to leave the bench (in his 60s) while his mind was still strong, and this past week Justice Marylnn Kite (whose brother was a county and then district court judge who retired some time ago) announced that she's stepping down soon, at age 67.  The more power to them.