DOVER, DE (AP) – Delaware Gov. John Carney has acknowledged that a provision splitting positions on Delaware’s highest courts between Republicans and Democrats is unconstitutional. The acknowledgment came in a proposed consent agreement filed Monday in a federal court case that reached the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020. Carney agrees that a “major-party” provision in Delaware’s constitution regarding appointments to Delaware’s Supreme Court, Superior Court, and Chancery Court is unconstitutional. The agreement ends a long-running battle pitting the Carney administration against Wilmington lawyer James Adams, a former Democrat who is now an unaffiliated voter. Adams claimed that the provision violated his constitutional rights by barring him from being considered for a judgeship on the Superior Court.
GOV. JOHN CARNEY