 Equally, scholars have argued that life tenure has taken on a new meaning in a modern context.Changes in medical care have markedly raised life expectancy and therefore has allowed Justices to serve for longer than ever before.Steven G. Calebresi and James Lindgren, professors of law at Northwestern University, argued that because vacancies in the court are occurring with less frequency and justices served on average 26.1 years between 1971 and 2006, the "efficacy of the democratic check that the appointment process provides on the Court's membership" is reduced.