The federal judiciary has a sort-of mandatory retirement [1]. After age 65, you fall out of the random case assignment pool and can only be appointed to a case

The federal judiciary has a sort-of mandatory retirement [1]. After age 65, you fall out of the random case assignment pool and can only be appointed to a case for special reasons, such as case overload or special prosecutions. Most judges cannot handle this change to relative obscurity and irrelevance, and fully retire. Only the most dedicated continue. [1] https://www.uscourts.gov/faqs-federal-judges#faq-What-is-a-senior-judge https://www.uscourts.gov/faqs-federal-judges#faq-What-is-a-s...? > Senior judges, who essentially provide volunteer service to the courts, typically handle about 15 percent of the federal courts' workload annually.