Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer) proposed a bill to bump the retirement age from 70 to 75 for state Supreme Court justices, Superior Court judges and judges in a number of other courts. Judicial vacancies created a massive case backlog during the pandemic when the courts temporarily shut down, a situation that was made worse when a record number of judges reached retirement age, leaving their positions.
There are still 65 vacancies in the appellate and trial divisions, and the state had to call in 77 retired or former Superior Court judges to help chip away at the backlog. Some critics have pointed to the Murphy administration for being too slow to nominate judges and the lengthy approval process within the Legislature before nominees are confirmed to the bench. Raising the judicial retirement age would require voter approval along with legislation.
