John Baer: About That Doctrine of Necessity

Pennsylvania's Supreme Court is about to decided a case in which each justice has a personal financial interest. The question is whether judges should be required to step down at age 70, as demanded by the Pennsylvania Constitution. A group of judges, some say at the urging of the high court itself, have filed suit.  Under the "doctrine of necessity," the Supreme Court can still hear the case because there is nowhere else to go.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's John Baer suggests that the only thing that is necessary is for the case to be dismissed.