HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's highest court Monday shot down an attempt by a bevy of judges to overturn a constitutional amendment that requires judges in the state to retire at age 70.

Even if it might not entirely reflect the realities of today's society, the retirement mandate was properly added to the state constitution by the voters 45 years ago, the state Supreme Court concluded in a unanimous ruling.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice J. Michael Eakin. Read Eakin's profile.

Eakin said the retirement limit argument must go beyond whether someone older than 70 is mentally and physically capable of being a judge.

The cutoff also establishes a "concrete limit" on the powers of judges by requiring them to step down, he wrote.

The Supreme Court's ruling won't automatically end the battle over the judicial retirement rule, because other challenges to the law are being mounted in the federal courts.