Delaware Supreme Court justice vacancy (May 2023)
| Delaware Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Vaughn vacancy |
| Date: May 1, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Abigail LeGrow |
| Date: April 13, 2023 |
Delaware governor John Carney appointed Abigail LeGrow to the Delaware Supreme Court. LeGrow replaced Justice James T. Vaughn Jr., who retired on May 1, 2023. Vaughn's replacement was Governor Carney's (D) third nominee to the five-member supreme court.[1]
At the time of the vacancy, Delaware law required a judicial nominating commission to recommend qualified candidates to the governor, who would select a successor from that list with senate approval. LeGrow will serve a 12-year term.
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: Abigail LeGrow
On April 13, 2023, Governor John Carney Jr. nominated Abigail LeGrow for the Delaware Supreme Court.[2] On May 3, 2023, LeGrow was confirmed by the Delaware State Senate.[3]
LeGrow received a B.A. in political science from Susquehanna University, graduating summa cum laude. She then received her J.D. from Pennsylvania State University's Dickinson School of Law in 2004, graduating as valedictorian of her class.[4][5]
After earning her law degree, LeGrow clerked for then-Justice Jack Jacobs of the Delaware Supreme Court. She then practiced law in the private sector, focusing on corporate and commercial litigation. In 2011, she was appointed to serve as a master on the Delaware Court of Chancery by former Chancellor Leo Strine. As a master on the Chancery Court, LeGrow presided over hearings and issued several legal recommendation opinions on a variety of issues. [4][5]
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. 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.[6]
Appointed justices serve for 12 years, at which point they must apply to the commission for reappointment.[7] The commission must recommend sitting judges for reappointment unless two-thirds or more of the committee object. Reappointed judges also serve 12-year terms.[7] 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.[7]
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a judge must:
- be a state resident; and
- be learned in the law.[8]
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.[6]
Vacancies
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.[6][9]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Delaware Judicial Nominating Commission
- See also: Delaware Judicial Nominating Commission
The Delaware Judicial Nominating Commission, also known as the JNC, is an independent state commission in Delaware first established by executive order in 1977 that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process.[10] The JNC has 12 members, selected by both the governor and the President of the Delaware State Bar Association.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Delaware Supreme Court
Justices
Following Vaughn's retirement, the Delaware Supreme Court included the following members:[11]
| ■ Collins Seitz Jr. | Appointed by Gov. John C. Carney Jr. (D) in 2019 | |
| ■ Gary Traynor | Appointed by Gov. John C. Carney Jr. (D) in 2017 | |
| ■ Karen L. Valihura | 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 Vaughn
- See also: James T. Vaughn Jr.
Vaughn was nominated to the court on September 23, 2014, by Governor Jack Markell (D) to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Carolyn Berger.[12]
Vaughn received his B.A. from Duke University in 1971 and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1976.[4] Vaughn served in the U.S. Army.[13]
Vaughn was an attorney with Vaughn and Vaughn from 1976 to 1988, and an attorney with Schmittinger and Rodriguez from 1988 to 1998. He went on to serve as a judge on the Kent County Superior Court from 1998 to 2014.[14][15][4]
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 Live, "Longtime Delaware Supreme Court justice to retire," November 29, 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 4.3 Delaware State Courts, "Superior Court of Delaware: President Judge James T. Vaughn Jr. Profile," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedappoint - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Delaware.gov, "Executive Order 16," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Delaware Code Online, "§ 3. Appointment of judges; terms of office; vacancies; political representation; confirmation of appointment.," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ The Delaware Code Online, "§ 2. Justices of Supreme Court and other State Judges; qualifications; residence; precedence.," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ University of Denver IAALS, "Delaware Gov. Markell Praises State's Merit Selection Process," December 11, 2012
- ↑ Note: Former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves also left office in 2023 to join a federal court.
- ↑ Delaware.gov, "Governor Markell nominates Judge James T. Vaughn, Jr. to Delaware Supreme Court," September 23, 2014
- ↑ Delaware State Courts, "Judicial Officers of the Delaware Supreme Court: Justice James T. Vaughn, Jr.," accessed November 25, 2015
- ↑ Delaware Online, "4 want chief justice position," November 12, 2013
- ↑ Delaware State Courts, "Superior Court History, Our Judicial Officers," accessed September 24, 2014
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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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