Delaware Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2023)
| Delaware Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Montgomery-Reeves vacancy |
| Date: February 7, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: N. Christopher Griffiths |
| Date: April 13, 2023 |
Gov. John Carney (D) appointed N. Christopher Griffiths via assisted appointment to the Delaware Supreme Court. Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves resigned on February 7, 2023 to accept her nomination to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.[1] Griffiths was Governor Carney's (D) first nominee to the five-member supreme court.
At the time of the vacancy under Delaware law, state supreme court justices were selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission.
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Delaware Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2023.
The appointee
- See also: N. Christopher Griffiths
On April 13, 2023, Governor John Carney Jr. nominated N. Christopher Griffiths to the Delaware Supreme Court.[2] On May 3, 2023, Griffiths was confirmed by the Delaware State Senate.[3]
The selection process
- 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.[4] The commission is made up of eleven members, ten of which are appointed by the governor (including at least four lawyers and at least four non-lawyers). The president of the Delaware State Bar Association nominates the eleventh member, who is added to the commission with the governor's approval. The governor designates the commission's chairperson.[4]
Approved nominees 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.[4] Reappointed judges also serve 12-year terms. Delaware is relatively unique in that appointees' initial terms are no shorter than their subsequent ones.[5]
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.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Delaware Supreme Court
Justices
Following Tamika Montgomery-Reeves' resignation, the Delaware Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Collins Seitz Jr. | Appointed by Gov. John Carney Jr. (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ Karen L. Valihura | Appointed by Gov. Jack Markell (D) in 2014 | |
| ■ Gary Traynor | Appointed by Gov. John Carney Jr. (D) in 2017 | |
| ■ James T. Vaughn Jr. | Appointed by Gov. Jack Markell (D) in 2014 |
About the court
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.
About Justice Montgomery-Reeves
- See also: Tamika Montgomery-Reeves
Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves joined the Delaware Supreme Court in 2019. She was appointed to the court by Governor John Carney Jr. (D).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Montgomery-Reeves served as a vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery. She was nominated by Gov. Jack Markell (D) on October 13, 2015, and approved by the Delaware General Assembly on October 28.[6] She was the second woman and the first black woman to serve on the court.[7]
Montgomery-Reeves received a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law.[6] Before becoming a judge in 2015, Montgomery-Reeves was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, focusing on corporate governance, corporate fiduciary duties, and corporate litigation. She previously worked at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and was a law clerk for Chancellor William B. Chandler III.[6]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2023
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2023
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2023. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Delaware Courts, "Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves announces she will step down in February to join the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals," December 16, 2022
- ↑ Delaware.gov, "Governor Carney Announces Supreme Court Nominations," accessed April 26, 2023
- ↑ AP News, "Delaware Senate confirms two Supreme Court nominees," accessed May 9, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Delaware; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Delaware," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Delaware.gov, "Governor Markell Announces Judicial Nominations for Court of Chancery, Family Court," October 13, 2015
- ↑ Washington Post, "Delaware Senate approves cabinet, court nominees," October 28, 2015
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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
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