Fayette County judge’s federal suit on hold
A U.S. District Court judge issued a 90-day stay in the proceedings of a civil suit involving a Fayette County senior judge who is challenging the federal constitutionality of the state’s mandatory retirement age for jurists.
The announcement came Wednesday following a telephone conference among counsel parties to discuss how to proceed with Senior Judge Gerald R. Solomon’s case in light of a recent state Supreme Court decision to hear oral arguments in a case that makes a very similar challenge at the state level.
In January, Solomon’s attorney, William T. Hangley of Philadelphia, amended the civil suit challenging a provision in Pennsylvania that forces judges to retire at the end of the calendar year in which they turn 70. Solomon’s co-plaintiff, Montgomery County Judge Arthur Tilson, withdrew himself from the federal suit to join other judges who were pursuing the case in state court.
Hangley, who represents both Solomon and Tilson, explained that the initial suit argued on both state and federal law. He said that in an effort to make sure both sets of laws are examined, Tilson withdrew his suit at the federal level and filed a state-only civil suit in Pennsylvania. A second group of judges who filed a similar suit did the same thing — leaving some plaintiffs in federal court, and transferring others to state court.
Hangley then filed an amended suit on behalf of Solomon at the federal level that pertains only to federal laws and regulations, claiming that forcing a judge to retire violates his or her equal protection and due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.
On March 29, the Supreme Court announced it would hear oral arguments in the Tilson suit in May. In the order granting a stay in Solomon’s case, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III wrote, “That action and this one, metaphorically, are two trains proceeding on parallel tracks and, with the recent scheduling of oral argument before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the Tilson train is rapidly pulling ahead.”
In the interest of judicial economy and conservation of counsels’ resources, Jones wrote, it was necessary to put Solomon’s case on hold until after oral arguments in the Tilson suit.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Gregory R. Neuhauser represents Gov. Tom Corbett and state Secretary of State Carol T. Aichele, who are named as defendants in the suit.
Solomon was forced to step down as president judge in the county last year after he reached the mandatory retirement age. He stayed on as a senior judge, for which he is paid $522 for each day he works, but receives no benefits. Full-time judges receive $169,541 annually, plus benefits.
A telephone conference is scheduled for July 2 to discuss the status of the Tilson case and how to proceed with Solomon’s case.