When are part-time, senior or retired judges used?
Often, senior or retired judges are used to relieve backlog or overcrowding of a docket on an as-needed basis to help expedite cases. Courts use supplemental judges to ensure high performance standards by using highly qualified individuals to ensure excellent time management and reliable procedures. Supplemental judges are also often used for long trials, especially in areas where they may have experience. These judges can also fill “non-judge” referee positions.Each state has different policies regarding former judges, but at a basic level, former judges can be any judge, no longer holding office, who served as a judge in that jurisdiction. Visiting judges can be limited to the court they served on as a sitting judge, or a court they were eligible to have served on. Extra judicial education is often required. The former judge is usually barred from being involved in any active practice of law, but must be in good standing with the state bar. Compensation for part-time judges is either
