Final answer:
Federal judges have life terms and can take senior status after working for 15 years, allowing them to stay on the bench but take fewer cases. This helps to establish an independent judiciary that is free from political influence.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you are a federal judge age 65 and choose not to retire, you can take senior status as long as you've been actively working for at least 15 years.
This means that you can stay on the bench but take fewer cases. Federal judges are appointed for life terms and are paid salaries that cannot be reduced while they remain on the bench. The idea of an independent judiciary is established in the manner in which federal judges are chosen and the terms they serve.
They serve during good behavior, which means they can serve for life and be free from undue political influence and pressure to decide a case according to the desires of the President or Congress.