Carolyn Berger
Carolyn Berger was an associate justice of the five member Delaware Supreme Court. She was appointed to the court by Governor Thomas Carper on July 22, 1994.[1] Berger was the first female to serve on the court. In June 2014, she announced her retirement, effective September 1, 2014.[2]
Education
Berger earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester in 1969. She received a master's degree in elementary education in 1971 from the Boston University School of Education and her J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law in 1976.[1]
Career
- 1994-2014: Justice, Delaware Supreme Court
- 1984-1994: Vice chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery
- 1979-1984: Attorney, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
- 1976-1979: Deputy attorney general, Delaware Department of Justice [1][3]
Awards and associations
Awards
- Honorary Doctor of Laws, Widener University School of Law [1]
Associations
- Associate member, Board of Bar Examiners
- Former president, Milton & Hattie Kutz Home
- Former vice-president, Milton & Hattie Kutz Home
- Member, Community Advisory Council of the Junior League of Wilmington
- Board of directors, Jewish Federation
- Board of directors, Delaware Region National Conference of Christians & Jews [1]
Political ideology
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Berger received a campaign finance score of -0.55, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of -0.35 that justices received in Delaware.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[4]
See also
External links
- Delaware State Courts, "Delaware Supreme Court"
- Philadelphia Business Journal, "Female Delaware Supreme Court justice retiring after not being "taken seriously" for top post," June 24, 2014
- Concurring Opinions, "Delaware Back to Sturdy Doctrine; Good Faith in Coma," March 31, 2009
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Delaware State Courts, "Justice Carolyn Berger," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ Boston University School of Law, "Alumni Page," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Del. Supreme Court Justice Berger to retire," June 9, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Delaware • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Delaware
State courts:
Delaware Supreme Court • Superior Court of Delaware • Delaware Court of Chancery • Delaware Family Court • Delaware Court of Common Pleas • Delaware Justice of the Peace Courts • Delaware Alderman's Courts
State resources:
Courts in Delaware • Delaware judicial elections • Judicial selection in Delaware