The Green Mountain State

The state motto for Vermont is "freedom and unity."  The motto raises the (unintentional) question about whether one is free to not be part of the unity in Vermont.  One thing that judges in Vermont are not free to do is serve as long as they are able.  Like many states, Vermont has a mandatory retirement age for judges.  For most states the mandatory retirement age is either 70 or 75.  Vermont, however, has a mandatory retirement age of 90.  That is a somewhat interesting choice by the Vermont legislature given that it is 11 years longer than the average life expectancy for someone living in Vermont.  I could not find anything that showed how many Vermont judges, if any, have served until they were 90.  But I guess that it is good that Vermont judges have more freedom to chose how long they serve than judges in our states.