Mercer County Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Wherry said Tuesday he won't seek another 10-year term on the bench, but Wherry could ultimately serve another eight as a senior judge in the region after his term expires next year.

Wherry, first elected to the bench in 1992, would be up for a retention vote next fall.

The Pennsylvania Constitution requires that full-time judges retire in the year when they turn 70.

"In view of that ... I do not believe it would be appropriate for me to seek another 10-year term of office when I could serve only three of those years," said Wherry, who turns 67 in the spring.

"Instead, I will request that my judicial status be converted from full-time status to senior status" as of Jan. 1, 2004, said Wherry.

To become a senior judge, a former or retired common pleas judge must have served at least 10 years on the bench and not have been defeated in a bid for re-election. Senior judges can serve until they are 75 and they are paid on a per-diem basis.

Senior judges are assigned to cases by the Administrator of Pennsylvania Courts at the request of a county in need of a judge, said Mercer County Court Administrator Peter Morin. Senior judges are generally in short supply and high demand, Morin said. Mercer County has in recent years used the services of senior judges from as far as 200 miles away.

Senior judges are assigned to cases from which judges in a county have recused themselves because of a conflict of interest or to lighten the caseloads of a full-time judges, Morin said.

Wherry's decision not to seek re-election means there will be an open judicial race in Mercer County next year.