A supernumerary judge or supernumerary magistrate is a judge who has retired from a full-time position on a court, but continues to work part-time. Generally, when a judge becomes supernumerary, a vacancy is created, and the appropriate person or body may subsequently make a new appointment to that Court.
The role of supernumerary judges varies by jurisdiction. In the
United States federal courts
The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the Constitution of the United States, United States Constitution and Law of the United States, laws of the fed ...
, this describes the status of judges who have taken
senior status. Supernumerary judges are widely used in
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, for example, where the chief justice of the state supreme court can assign retired judges or justices to act as supernumerary judges on any court of the state. Similarly, retired judges of the
Judiciary of New Jersey may be recalled into service and, as of April 2023, there are about 75 to 80 judges on recall.
Supernumerary judicial positions are also widely used in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
[David H. Flaherty, ''Essays in the History of Canadian Law'' (2015).] In Canada, a judge may request supernumerary status when they have continued in judicial office for at least 15 years and their combined age and number of years in judicial office is not less than 80 or they have attained the age of 70 years and have continued in judicial office for at least 10 years. The salary of each supernumerary judge of a superior court is the salary annexed to the office of a judge of that court other than a chief justice, senior associate chief justice, or associate chief justice.
References
Judges
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