Kaplan v. Allegheny County Commissioners

NARICK, A.J.,

In this mandamus action, plaintiff, Judge Lawrence W. Kaplan, seeks to compel defendants1 to refrain from imposing the Allegheny County Commissioners’ compulsory retirement policy requiring all county employees, including Judge Kaplan’s tipstaff, Austin F. Lacy to retire upon reaching the age of 70. At the center of this case is a dispute between the commissioners in carrying out their legislative and executive responsibilities, and a judge’s judicial responsibilities, including the right to supervise, discharge and hire court-appointed employees.

ISSUES

The parties have stipulated…