By Zachary Gorchow
President of Michigan Operations
Posted: March 8, 2018 4:40 PM

For 63 years, those aspiring to don a black robe and serve as a judge in Michigan have only been able to do so before they turn 70.

More specifically, that 1955 constitutional amendment passed by voters, as refined in the 1963 Constitution, says, “No person shall be elected or appointed to a judicial office after reaching the age of 70 years.”

Enter Court of Appeals Judge Kathleen Jansen. A former Macomb Circuit Court judge appointed by then-Governor Jim Blanchard in 1989 to the Court of Appeals, Ms. Jansen has now served four full six-year terms plus a partial term in the court’s 2nd District.

Ms. Jansen turns 70 this year. And her term expires January 1, 2019.

So that must mean the end of her judicial career, right?

Wrong.

Ms. Jansen turns 70 on November 7.

Election Day is November 6.

So Ms. Jansen is free and clear to run for and, presumably, win another six-year term on the court. She filed to run Monday.

Had she been facing the same circumstances in 2017, 2011 or 2006, when Election Day fell on November 7 or 8, she would have been ineligible.

Whether the 70 and out age limit still makes sense given the average American life expectancy in 1955 was 66.7 years and it’s now 78.6 years is another question.