Following the adoption of the Connecticut Constitution in 1818,
judges age seventy and older had been barred from holding judicial
office. From 1818 until 1965, pursuant to that prohibition, judges
who had reached the age of seventy years were not permitted to
exercise any judicial powers, but, beginning in 1889, were allowed
to act in a limited capacity as state referees, consistent with
that limitation, to find facts and recommend rulings to the trial
court. Then, in 1965, the constitution was amended to permit judges
who were not "eligible to hold [their] office" upon
reaching the age of seventy years but had chosen to serve as state
referees to exercise limited judicial power, including the powers
of the Superior Court. With the adoption of that amendment, the
Constitution now provides in relevant part: "No judge shall be
eligible to hold his office after he shall arrive at the age of
seventy years, except that a chief justice or judge of the supreme
court ... [or]
