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Judge wins re-election but is now too old to serve on bench

The longest-serving judge in Louisiana won election Tuesday to another term of office.

But Orleans Parish Criminal Court Judge Frank Marullo is now too old to serve on the bench, under state law. Voters defeated a ballot measure that would have eliminated a state constitution requirement that judges retire by age 70, WWL reports.

Marullo has argued that the requirement doesn’t apply to him, because he was first elected to the bench in 1974. At that point, the mandatory retirement age for judges was 75.

However, the judge will turn 75 before his new term of office begins next year, the Louisiana Record reports.

Foreseeing this ironic election result, several voters had sued to try to bump Marullo off the ballot. The courts ruled that he could run for a seat on the bench, because there was no age restriction on doing so.

It is now up to the Louisiana Supreme Court to determine whether the judge will be forced to retire.

Marullo told WWL he intends to fight the issue to the finish, explaining that he believes his 40 years of judicial experience makes him especially well-qualified to serve.

“I am not going to give up, no,” he said. “Because I think that every American citizen should not be discriminated against regardless of their age, in any job, unless they have a disability and can’t do the job.”