In a move that has sent shockwaves through Richmond, Democratic leaders in Virginia are reportedly weighing a drastic legislative maneuver to overhaul the state’s highest court following a major defeat on redistricting.
According to a Sunday report by The New York Times, lawmakers discussed, during a Saturday conference call, a plan to slash the mandatory retirement age for state Supreme Court justices. The proposal would drop the age limit from 75 to 54.
Because every current justice on the bench is older than 54, the law would effectively terminate the entire court overnight.
This strategy surfaced just one day after the Virginia Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling on Friday, striking down a redistricting voter referendum. The court’s majority determined that the Democratic-led initiative violated the state constitution because the redistricting amendment was added to the ballot after early voting had already commenced.
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The political stakes are significant. The proposed maps were projected to help Democrats pick up as many as four new seats. By forcing the current justices into retirement, Democrats—who hold the majority in both chambers of the state Legislature—could appoint an entirely new slate of justices. These new appointees could then potentially rehear the redistricting case and reinstate the maps.
During the Saturday call, which included House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Representative Suhas Subramanyam reportedly expressed support for aggressive action to save the voter-approved maps.
“Everyone has got to have a strong stomach right now; this is a complete disaster waiting to happen if people are timid,” Subramanyam told the NYT. He argued that the move was a necessary response to tactics used in other states. “We have Republican states ignoring their constitutions and interrupting early voting and ignoring their Supreme Courts altogether. We know based on that, Republicans would explore every single option possible to move this forward.”
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For this plan to become a reality, any legislation changing the retirement age would need the signature of Governor Abigail Spanberger.
While the Governor campaigned in favor of the redrawn districts before the court’s Friday ruling, she has not yet commented publicly on whether she would support a legislative overhaul of the judiciary to bypass the court’s decision.
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