Graying Federal Judges Weigh Consequences of Retirement

The Honorable W. Royal Furgeson, Jr., Senior U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of Texas, has published an interesting article in the February 2013 Texas Bar Journal entitled “Senior Judges of the Federal Courts: Their Choices and the Consequences.” In the article, Judge Furgeson discusses the often difficult choices federal judges face after reaching retirement age and the effect those choices can have on both a judge’s ability to earn a living and the federal judicial system as a whole.

Once a federal judge is eligible for retirement, he or she may choose to receive an annuity equal to the rate of pay received at retirement or to continue working as a senior judge. Although retired federal judges may engage in outside employment, senior judges remain subject to a number of limitations on outside-earned income.

In the article, Judge Furgeson discusses in detail the current trend for senior federal judges to continue conducting trials. Presently, many federal judges who reach retirement age choose to remain on the bench as a senior judge. In fact, more than one-quarter of all federal trials were reportedly held before a senior judge in 2009. In addition, more than 20 percent of cases terminated before a senior judge during the same year.

According to Judge Furgeson:

The fact is, if there were any significant negative change in the number of federal judges taking senior status instead of retiring, the impact on the federal judiciary would be devastating.

The article concludes by stating the federal judicial system would see dramatic bottlenecks if the federal judiciary begins retiring in larger numbers. Although Judge Furgeson states many aging federal judges continue working due to interesting work and a desire to serve the public, he reportedly believes this may change in the future as a direct result of salary erosion.