NATION : Vermont Judge Wins Age Bias Suit
MONTPELIER, Vt. — A Vermont Supreme Court justice ordered to retire because he turned 70 can remain on the bench under federal law prohibiting age discrimination, a federal judge said in a ruling released today.
The Vermont Constitution requires all judges to retire at the end of the year in which they turn 70. But Justice Louis Peck, who turned 70 in December, refused to retire, saying federal law superseded the state constitutional provision. The state attorney general’s office agreed with Peck.
The state filed suit to force Peck off the bench. But U.S. District Judge Lee Gagliardi said Peck can remain on the job.
An appeal is expected, and lawyers in the case have said the issue is not likely to be settled until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the question.
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