Delaware Supreme Court

Delaware Supreme Court
Court Information
Justices: 5
Founded: 1951
Location: Dover
Salary
Associates: $218,684
Judicial Selection
Method: Governor-controlled commission
Term: 12 years
Active justices
N. Christopher Griffiths, Abigail LeGrow, Collins Seitz Jr., Gary Traynor, Karen L. Valihura

Founded in 1951, the Delaware Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Collins Seitz Jr.

As of May 2023, all five judges on the court were appointed by Democratic governors.

The Delaware Supreme Court meets in Dover, Delaware.

In Delaware, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

Jurisdiction

The Delaware Constitution gives the supreme court appellate jurisdiction in most criminal cases for final judgments that have already been decided by lower courts, including superior court, family court, and the court of chancery. It also gives the supreme court discretionary jurisdiction to issue prohibition, quo warranto, certiorari, mandamus, and certified questions.

The chief justice of the supreme court is the administrative head of the courts. In consultation with other supreme court justices, the chief justice sets administrative policy for the court system. The supreme court also has jurisdiction over admission and discipline of lawyers through the Board of Examiners, Office of Disciplinary Counsel, the Lawyer's Fund for Client Protection, the Commission on Law and Technology, and the Commission for Continuing Legal Education.

The following text from Article IV, Section 11 of the Delaware Constitution covers the organization and jurisdiction of the court:

“	Jurisdiction of Supreme Court The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction as follows: Section 11. The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction as follows: (1)(a) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in civil causes and to determine finally all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final judgments and other proceedings of said Superior Court in civil causes: Provided that on appeal from a verdict of a jury, the findings of the jury, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive. (1)(b) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in criminal causes, upon application of the accused in all cases in which the sentence shall be death, imprisonment exceeding one month, or fine exceeding One Hundred Dollars, and in such other cases as shall be provided by law; and to determine finally all matters of appeal on the judgments and proceedings of said Superior Court in criminal causes: Provided, however, that appeals from the Superior Court in cases of prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of this Constitution shall be governed by the provisions of that Section. (1)(c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this Section to the contrary, to receive appeals from the Superior Court in criminal causes, upon application by the State in all causes in which the Superior Court, or any inferior court an appeal from which lies to the Superior Court, has granted an accused any of the following: a new trial or judgment of acquittal after a verdict, modification of a verdict, arrest of judgment, relief in any post-conviction proceeding or in any action collaterally attacking a criminal judgment, or a new punishment hearing in a capital case after the court has imposed a sentence of death, or any order or judgment declaring any act of the General Assembly, or any portion of any such act, to be unconstitutional under either the Constitution of the United States or the State of Delaware, inoperative or unenforceable, except that no appeal shall lie where otherwise prohibited by the double jeopardy clause of the Constitution of the United States or of this State. Notwithstanding anything in this Article to the contrary, the General Assembly may by statute implement the jurisdiction herein conferred. (2) Wherever in this Constitution reference is made to a writ of error or a proceeding in error to the Superior Court, such reference shall be construed as referring to the appeal provided for in Section (1)(a) and Section (1)(b) of this Article. (3) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in cases of prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of this Constitution and to determine finally all matters of appeal in such cases. (4) To receive appeals from the Court of Chancery and to determine finally all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final decrees and other proceedings in chancery. (5) To issue writs of prohibition, quo warranto, certiorari and mandamus to the Superior Court, and the Court of Chancery; or any of the Judges of the said courts and also to any inferior court or courts established or to be established by law and to any of the Judges thereof and to issue all orders, rules and processes proper to give effect to the same. The General Assembly shall have power to provide by law in what manner the jurisdiction and power hereby conferred may be exercised in vacation and whether by one or more Justices of the Supreme Court. (6) To issue such temporary writs or orders in causes pending on appeal, or on writ of error, as may be necessary to protect the rights of parties and any Justice of the Supreme Court may exercise this power when the court is not in session. (7) To exercise such other jurisdiction by way of appeal, writ of error or of certiorari as the General Assembly may from time to time confer upon it. (8) To hear and determine questions of law certified to it by other Delaware courts, the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, a United States District Court, a United States Bankruptcy Court, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the highest appellate court of any other state, the highest appellate court of any foreign country, or any foreign governmental agency regulating the public issuance or trading of securities, where it appears to the Supreme Court that there are important and urgent reasons for an immediate determination of such questions by it. The Supreme Court may, by rules, define generally the conditions under which questions may be certified to it and prescribe methods of certification.	”
—Delaware Constitution, Article IV, Section 11

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the Delaware Supreme Court , their political party, and when they assumed office.

Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
Delaware Supreme Court	N. Christopher Griffiths	Nonpartisan	May 22, 2023
Delaware Supreme Court	Abigail LeGrow	Nonpartisan	May 11, 2023
Delaware Supreme Court	Gary Traynor	Nonpartisan	July 5, 2017
Delaware Supreme Court	Karen L. Valihura	Nonpartisan	July 25, 2014
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice	Collins Seitz Jr.	Nonpartisan	November 8, 2019

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Delaware

The five justices on the Delaware Supreme Court are selected by an assisted appointment method, whereby a judicial nominating commission screens candidates and submits at least three names to the governor. The governor may decline to appoint someone from this list and instead request a supplemental list, but ultimately a name from one of these lists must be submitted to the Delaware Senate. The commission is made up of 12 members, eleven of which are appointed by the governor (including at least four lawyers and at least three non-lawyers). The president of the Delaware State Bar Association nominates the twelfth member, who is added to the commission with the governor's approval. The governor designates the commission's chairperson.

Appointed justices serve for 12 years, at which point they must apply to the commission for reappointment. The commission must recommend sitting judges for reappointment unless two-thirds or more of the committee object. Reappointed judges also serve 12-year terms. Delaware is relatively unique in that appointees' initial terms are no shorter than their subsequent ones

Delaware's constitution requires that there be an even partisan balance on each state court. For courts with an even number of judges, this means that no more than half of the seats on the court may be held by judges who are members of the same political party. For courts with an odd number of judges (including the state supreme court), this means that no more than a bare majority of seats on the court may be held by members of the same party. For example, a court with five seats could not have any more than three judges who are members of the same party.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must:

• be a state resident; and
• be learned in the law.

Chief justice

The process for selecting a chief judge or justice for the supreme, superior, and chancery courts is identical to the process used to select associate judges. The governor chooses an appointee from a list compiled by the judicial nominating commission, and if the state Senate gives consent, the appointee will serve a 12-year term as chief.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a judge's term. A judicial nominating commission recommends qualified candidates to the governor, and the governor selects a successor from that list with Senate approval. The new appointee serves a 12-year term.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.