US Laws, Codes, Statutes & Cases

    (a) Whenever any person engaged as a judge on or before [July 2, 1997] has served as a justice of the supreme court, the superior court, the family court, the district court, or any combination thereof for twenty (20) years, or has so served for ten (10) years and has reached the age of sixty-five (65) years, that justice may retire from active service and thereafter the justice shall receive annually during life a sum equal to three-fourths (3/4) of the annual salary that the justice was receiving at the time of retirement.

   (b) Any justice in any of the courts who shall retire in accordance with the provisions of this section or § 36-9-5 may, at his or her own request and at the direction of the chief justice of the supreme court, subject to the retiree's physical and mental competence, be assigned to perform such services as an associate justice of the superior court, or the family court, or the district court as the presiding justice of the superior court, or the chief judge of the family court, or the district shall prescribe. When so assigned and performing such service, the justice shall have all the powers and authority of an associate justice of the superior court, the family court, or the district court but otherwise shall have no powers nor be authorized to perform any judicial duties. Such a retired justice shall not be counted in the number of judges provided by law for the superior court, the family court, or the district court.

   (c) Any justice of the supreme court who shall retire in accordance with the provisions of this section shall at the direction of the chief justice of the supreme court, subject to the retiree's physical and mental competence, be assigned to perform such services as an associate justice of the supreme court as the chief justice of the supreme court shall prescribe. When so assigned and performing such services, the retiree shall have all the powers and authority of an associate justice of the supreme court, but otherwise he or she shall have no powers nor be authorized to perform any judicial duties relating to the supreme court, except as authorized under § 8-1-1. Such a retired justice shall not be counted in the number of justices provided by law for the supreme court.