You know how they say 40 is the new 30? According to Michigan's Constitution, 70 is the new senile. 

If you're over the age of 70, you can't be elected or appointed to the bench in this state.

That's a rule that dates back to 1906, according to former Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Kelly, when life expectancies were shorter.

For Kelly, a Democrat, the law means she had to step down when her term ended in January. She's 74. Asked how it feels to be too old to do her job, she laughs.

"Well, I've only had about 30 days to grow senile, so I haven't quite achieved it yet!"

But Kelly says the age limit hurts regular Michiganders more than judges.

DETROIT (AP) - Federal authorities have accused a former contractor with the Detroit Public Library of bribery in an effort to win a $1.5 million contract.

James Henley was indicted Thursday on charges he bribed a library official in 2007 and 2008. He also has been charged with failing to file tax returns for those years.

Officials say Henley created a company to obtain an information technology contract. The indictment says an unnamed official helped the company win the contract and Henley secretly paid $600,000 in kickbacks to the library official.

The Associated Press left phone and email messages Friday for Henley.

A gun charge filed against former state House Speaker Craig DeRoche has been dismissed.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled a charge of possessing a firearm while intoxicated violated his Second Amendment rights.
    
DeRoche was charged with being drunk while possessing a firearm in the summer of 2010.

His mother-in-law told police he had locked himself in one of his children’s bedrooms with a 40-caliber-handgun. But, by the time police arrived, she had already taken the gun and hidden it.
    
DeRoche challenged the criminal charge as a violation of his Second Amendment rights.

The Court of Appeals agreed and said, since the gun had been moved away from him to another part of the house, he was only near the firearm – not in possession of it.

The court decision says to rule otherwise would be too restrictive – essentially, people in a residence with a firearm anywhere in it could not consume alcohol.
    
DeRoche served as the state House Republican leader from 2005 to 2008. He says he has quit drinking.

DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge says all Michigan inmates serving no-parole sentences for murder committed as juveniles are entitled to a chance at release.
 
Judge John Corbett O'Meara says a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down mandatory no-parole sentences applies retroactively to Michigan inmates already behind bars.

O'Meara's decision Wednesday trumps a ruling last fall by the Michigan appeals court, which said retroactivity would not apply for most.

O'Meara says it's a "matter of law and morality" that the Supreme Court decision cover all. He's directed attorneys for the state and for inmates to propose a way to hold parole hearings.

Those next steps will be litigated for months.