Force the VA Supreme Court into retirement?

[Takket]

Is this just a fantasy or can Democrats actually pull this off?

https://www.the-downballot.com/p/how-virginia-democrats-can-overturn

Virginia Democrats are looking for a way to overturn the state Supreme Court’s Friday decision invalidating the constitutional amendment temporarily adopting new congressional districts that a majority of voters ratified last month. They have a simple—and lawful—solution: Send the entire court into early retirement.

Article VI, Section 9, of the Virginia Constitution gives the legislature unlimited authority to set the retirement age for judges. It specifies, “The General Assembly may also provide for the mandatory retirement of justices and judges after they reach a prescribed age, beyond which they shall not serve, regardless of the term to which elected or appointed.”

Current law sets the mandatory retirement age at 73: “Any member who attains 73 years of age shall be retired 20 days after the convening of the next regular session of the General Assembly following his seventy-third birthday.”

This number is arbitrary. States around the country with similar laws mandate retirement across a wide range of ages. Virginia lawmakers can simply lower theirs. Make it 54 for Supreme Court justices—the age of the youngest justice, Stephen McCullough, who joined the majority opinion—and make it take effect immediately.

[standingtall]

1. I think if Democrats try this it would likely head to the U.S. Supreme Court

And the constitutionality of mandatory retirement ages will challenged. Not an expert there may some States that have mandatory retirement ages for some professions, but I know there are also State that had mandatory retirement ages declared unconstitutional by their Supreme Courts. So I don't think this would hold up against the conservative U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court would get involved in this and very quickly I'd. Just like they did in 2000 to stop the recount in Florida which was Florida election law at the time.


I think the better option would be to simply ignore the Courts ruling and say the Virginia Supreme Court assumed a power it doesn't have by misinterpreting the State. The people who can make and unmake constitutional amendments have that authority not the court.