Under state law, judges must retire at age 70, although they can be certified three times for two-year terms.
Brazilian judges must retire at the age of 70.
There were rumours that some judges would retire rather than accept a pay cut.
It was as if a human judge had retired to chambers to think some things over... for a century or two.
Two old federal judges who were either retired or close to it.
In 2005, nine federal judges resigned or retired - the most in any single year.
The judges will then retire to consider their judgment, expected in mid-2011.
Previous judges have retired or stepped down because they were among the claimants.
At the end of their term, most judges retire from public life.
When they were finished questioning each panel of 14, the lawyers and the judge retired to a back room.