Delaware Supreme Court justice vacancy (October 2019)
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| Strine Vacancy Delaware Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| October 24, 2019 |
| Confirmation date |
| November 7, 2019 |
| Table of contents |
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The appointee Appointee candidates Selection process About Chief Justice Strine |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine retired on October 30, 2019. In his retirement letter to the governor, Strine said, "I intend to resign as Chief Justice this autumn, upon the nomination, confirmation, and swearing in of my successor."[1]
At the time of the vacancy, under Delaware law, the governor selected supreme court justices from a list submitted by a judicial nominating commission. The appointee was also required to receive confirmation from the Delaware State Senate.
Governor John Carney (D) nominated Associate Justice Collins Seitz Jr. to replace Strine as the chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Carney also nominated Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve as a new associate justice, replacing Seitz. The Delaware State Senate confirmed the nominees on November 7, 2019. Seitz and Montgomery-Reeves were Carney's second and third nominees to the five-member supreme court.
The appointees
Collins Seitz
- See also: Collins Seitz Jr.
Seitz became an associate justice on the Delaware Supreme Court in 2015. He was appointed to the position by Governor Jack Markell (D) on February 23, 2015.[2] The Delaware Senate confirmed the appointment on March 18, 2015.[3]
Before joining the court, Seitz was an attorney in private practice. He received a B.A. from the University of Delaware in 1980 and a J.D. from Villanova University School of Law.[2]
Tamika Montgomery-Reeves
- See also: Tamika Montgomery-Reeves
Montgomery-Reeves joined the state Supreme Court after serving as a vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery. Montgomery-Reeves was the first African-American to serve on the state supreme court.
Montgomery-Reeves was nominated to the Delaware Court of Chancery by Gov. Markell on October 13, 2015, and approved by the Delaware General Assembly on October 28.[4] She was the second woman and the first black woman to serve on the court.[5]
Before joining the Delaware Court of Chancery, Montgomery-Reeves worked in private practice as an attorney. She previously served as a law clerk for Chancellor William B. Chandler III.[4]
Montgomery-Reeves received a bachelor's degree from the University of Mississippi and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law.[4]
The selection process
- See also: Assisted appointment
At the time of the vacancy on the Delaware Supreme Court, a judicial nominating commission screened candidates and submitted at least three names to the governor. The governor selected a replacement, although the governor was able to decline to appoint an individual from the list and instead request a supplemental list. The governor would submit a nomination to the Delaware State Senate for a confirmation vote.[6]
Approved nominees served for 12 years, at which point they would be required to apply to the commission for reappointment.[6] Reappointed judges also served 12-year terms.[7]
Selection of the chief justice
The court's chief justice was also selected through assisted appointment at the time of the vacancy. The governor chose an appointee from a list compiled by the judicial nominating commission. If the state Senate confirmed the appointee, they served a 12-year term as chief.[7]
Judicial Nominating Commission
- See also: Judicial selection in Delaware
The Delaware Judicial Nominating Commission was established in 1977. It consisted of eleven members—ten governor-appointed members (including at least four lawyers and at least three non-lawyers) and one member appointed by the president of the Delaware State Bar Association with the governor's approval. The governor designated the commission's chairperson.[8]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Senate confirmation
On November 7, 2019, the Delaware State Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of Associate Justice Collins Seitz Jr. as chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and Tamika Montgomery-Reeves as an associate justice.[9]
Gubernatorial appointees
Gov. John Carney (D) nominated Associate Justice Collins Seitz Jr. to replace Strine as the next chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Carney also nominated Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve as a new associate justice, replacing Seitz. The Delaware State Senate held a special session on November 7, 2019, to consider the nominations.[10]
About Chief Justice Strine
- See also: Leo E. Strine Jr.
Governor Jack Markell (D) nominated Strine to the position of chief justice on the Delaware Supreme Court on January 8, 2014. The Delaware State Senate unanimously confirmed Strine on January 29, 2014, and he was sworn in on February 28, 2014. He succeeded Chief Justice Myron Steele.[11][12][13]
Before becoming the state supreme court chief justice, Strine was a chancellor on the Delaware Court of Chancery from 2011 to 2014. He was vice-chancellor from 1998 to 2011. From 1994 to 1998, Strine was chief legal counsel to Governor Thomas Carper (D).[14][15]
Strine received his undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware and his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.[14]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[16] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[17] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[18] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[19] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[20] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[21] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[22] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Supreme Court of Delaware, "Letter of resignation, Chief Justice Leo Strine," July 8, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Delaware.gov, "Governor Markell Nominates Collins J. Seitz, Jr. to Delaware Supreme Court," February 23, 2015
- ↑ Delaware, "Governor's Statement on the Confirmation of Collins J. Seitz, Jr. as Delaware Supreme Court Justice," March 18, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Delaware; Judicial Nominating Commissions," archived January 13, 2012
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Delaware," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Delaware.gov, "Executive Order 7: Preservation of Delaware's independent judiciary and continuance of the judicial nominating commission," March 9, 2017
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Delaware Senate confirms state Supreme Court picks," November 7, 2019
- ↑ Delaware.gov, "Governor Carney Announces Delaware Supreme Court Nominations," October 24, 2019
- ↑ Delaware.gov, "Governor Markell Nominates Leo E. Strine, Jr. for Chief Justice of Delaware Supreme Court," January 8, 2014
- ↑ Reuters, "Leo Strine confirmed as chief justice of Delaware's Supreme Court," January 29, 2014
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Steele chosen to swear in Strine as chief justice," February 23, 2014
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Delaware Courts, "Judges of the Court of Chancery"
- ↑ The Globe and Mail, "Leo Strine: Sharp-tongued judge has a nose for 'hinky' boardroom behaviour," March 30, 2012
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 2019.
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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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