At the end of the 18th century, the Constitution of the United States granted them this attribute as a guarantee of judicial independence. The issue is that, two hundred years later, the life expectancy of magistrates doubles or triples that of 1787. In an article entitled "The oldest courts in history," the American digital magazine Slate collected a series of descriptive statistics. About 12% of federal district judges are over eighty years old. In 2011, eleven federal judges had more than ninety, compared to the four that were twenty years ago. The number of octogenarians and nonagenarians doubled in the last two decades. The most extreme case was that of Judge Wesley Brown of Kansas, appointed in the time of John F. Kennedy, who held office until he died, at 104, in 2012.
The risk of senility in people who administer justice is seen as a problem even by some of their colleagues. According to the Wall Street Journal's judicial blog, Jack Weinstein, federal judge in Brooklyn, suggested modifying the codes of ethics of the Judiciary so that magistrates could report their health problems. Judge Boyce Martin opined that his veteran teammates should undergo regular mental and physical tests.
