The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole
appellate
In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...
court in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
state of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
. Because Delaware is a popular haven for
corporations
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of
corporate law decisions, particularly in the area of
mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
.
[Thomas Lee Hazen and Jerry W. Markham, ''Corporations and Other Business Enterprises'' (2003) ]
Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court has
appellate jurisdiction
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
over direct appeals from the
Superior Court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...
, Family Court, and
Court of Chancery
The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
. Because it is the only appellate court in the state, its jurisdiction over appeals from final orders is mandatory. However, it has
discretionary jurisdiction Discretionary jurisdiction is a circumstance where a court has the power to decide whether to hear a particular case brought before it. Most courts have no such power, and must entertain any case properly filed, so long as the court has subject mat ...
over appeals from
interlocutory orders.
The Court has
original jurisdiction
In common law legal systems original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a higher court has the power to review a lower court's decision.
India
In India, the Sup ...
over
writ
In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
s of
mandamus
(; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...
,
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, and
certiorari
In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of an English prerogative writ, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...
. In addition, the Court regulates and has
exclusive jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one court ...
over matters concerning the admission and discipline of lawyers, the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection,
continuing legal education
Continuing legal education (CLE), also known as mandatory or minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) or, in some jurisdictions outside the United States, as continuing professional development, consists of professional education for attorneys t ...
requirements, and the
unauthorized practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...
.
Constitutionally, the Chief Justice is the chief administrative officer of the entire Delaware judicial system and has the responsibility for securing funding for the courts from the Delaware General Assembly.
Procedure
Motions
Motions are normally handled in chambers by a motions justice. Arguments on motions are uncommon.
Oral argument
While the Court's appellate jurisdiction is mandatory, it is not required to hear oral argument. Typically between sixty and seventy-five percent of its decisions are rendered on briefs. If a case involves a novel question of law or the justices desire clarification, oral argument is called. Each attorney in oral argument is given 20 minutes to present its side, except for capital cases, in which each side is given 30 minutes.
Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices. In certain cases set forth in Rule 1 of the Court's Rules, the Court will sit ''
en banc
In law, an en banc session (; French for "in bench"; also known as ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank'') is a session in which a case is heard before all the judges of a court (before the entire bench) rather than by one judge or a smaller ...
''. These cases include cases where a criminal defendant has been sentenced to death, where the three justice panel cannot reach a unanimous decision, or where the Court has been asked to modify or overrule existing precedent.
In cases being heard by a three justice panel, the lawyers presenting argument do not know the identity of the justices hearing the argument until the justices enter the courtroom.
Arguments are normally held each Wednesday beginning at 10:00 a.m. in
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
, the state capital. Occasionally, the Court will hear arguments in special locations, such as the
Widener University School of Law
Widener University Delaware Law School (Delaware Law School and formerly Widener University School of Law) is a private law school in Wilmington, Delaware. It is one of two separate ABA-accredited law schools of Widener University. Widener Un ...
. The Court has a courtroom in
Wilmington, but it is rarely used.
History
The Court in its current form was established by means of a
constitutional amendment
A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...
in 1951. Before that, the Court had operated under the Delaware Constitution of 1897 as a unique "leftover-judge" system, wherein appeals were heard by a panel of three judges who were not involved in the matter on appeal from either the Superior Court or the Court of Chancery. In 1978, the Court's size was expanded from three to five. Prior to 1897, Delaware's highest court was the Court of Errors & Appeals, which operated under a similar "leftover-judge" system.
Notable cases
* ''
Cheff v. Mathes
''Cheff v. Mathes'', 199 A.2d 548 (Del. 1964), was a case in which the Delaware Supreme Court first addressed the issue of director conflict of interest in a corporate change of control setting. This case is the predecessor to future seminal c ...
'' (1964): The first time the Delaware Supreme Court addressed problems of board of directors conflict of interest in a takeover setting. In this case, the court applied intermediate scrutiny to the
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
' decision to pay a bidder
greenmail
Greenmail or greenmailing is the action of purchasing enough shares in a firm to challenge a firm's leadership with the threat of a hostile takeover to force the target company to buy the purchased shares back at a premium in order to prevent the ...
, stating that directors must have "reasonable grounds to believe a danger to corporate policy and effectiveness existed by
he bidder'sstock ownership.
rectors satisfy their burden by showing good faith and reasonable investigation
* ''
Smith v. Van Gorkom
''Smith v. Van Gorkom'' 488 A.2d 858 ( Del. 1985) is a United States corporate law case of the Delaware Supreme Court, discussing a director's duty of care. It is often called the "Trans Union case". ''Van Gorkom'' is sometimes referred to as the ...
'' (1985): Expanded the modern doctrine of the
business judgment rule
The business judgment rule is a case law-derived doctrine in corporations law that courts defer to the business judgment of corporate executives. It is rooted in the principle that the "directors of a corporation... are clothed with hepresumptio ...
to include the duty of care, often called negligence. Under the general business judgment rule, a Delaware court will not second-guess the decisions of a board of directors absent a breach of one of three fiduciary duties: good faith, due care, or loyalty. A plaintiff may overcome the business judgment ruleand receive a more favorable level of scrutiny under the "entire fairness" standardif the plaintiff can show that the directors' decision lacked any rational basis (sometimes called waste).
* ''
Unocal v. Mesa Petroleum'' (1985): A board of directors may only try to prevent a take-over where it can be shown that there was a threat to corporate policy and the defensive measure adopted was proportional and reasonable given the nature of the threat.
* ''
Revlon v. McAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc.'' (1986): If a company is up for sale, the board of directors has a duty to maximize the value of that sale for the shareholders' benefit.
* ''
Mills Acquisition Co. v. Macmillan, Inc.'' (1989): A board of directors may refuse a takeover attempt without submitting the matter to a vote of shareholders.
* ''
Paramount v. QVC'' (1993): If a board of directors is about to consider selling, dissolving, or transferring control of a corporation, they are prohibited from considering non-shareholder interests and have a duty to maximize shareholder value.
*
John Doe No. 1 v. Cahill' (2005): An
anonymous blogger's
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.. Updated by . An IP address serves two main functions: network interface ident ...
will not be revealed via a
Doe subpoena A Doe subpoena is a subpoena that seeks the identity of an unknown defendant to a lawsuit. Most jurisdictions permit a plaintiff who does not yet know a defendant's identity to file suit against John Doe and then use the tools of the discovery pr ...
directed to his or her
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
in a
defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
suit, unless the plaintiff has alleged facts sufficient to overcome
summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court
A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes ...
. This decision has the practical effect of prohibiting
SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...
suits or similar
litigation
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
designed to quell dissent or unpopular comment. ''Cahill'' was the first suit of its kind in the nation; ''
amicus curiae
An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...
'' briefs were filed on behalf of the anonymous blogger by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
and the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
br>
* ''
Unitrin, Inc. v. American General Corp.'' (1995): Directors' power to block hostile takeovers
Composition
As outlined by Article IV of the
Constitution of Delaware
The Constitution of the State of Delaware of 1897 is the fourth and current governing document for Delaware state government and has been in effect since its adoption on June 4 of that year.
Executive
The Governor is the executive officer of the ...
, Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
, subject to confirmation by the
Delaware Senate
The Delaware Senate is the upper house of the Delaware General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is composed of 21 Senators, each of whom is elected to a four-year term, except when reapportionment occurs, at whi ...
and serve a term of office of 12 years. Additionally, like all the
Courts of Delaware Courts of Delaware include:
;State courts of Delaware
*Delaware Supreme Court
**Delaware Court of Chancery
** Delaware Superior Court (3 courts, one for each county)
*** Delaware Family Court
***Delaware Court of Common Pleas
*** Delaware Justice o ...
, the Supreme Court is subject to a "bare majority" partisanship rule, where no party can control more than three seats on the Supreme Court.
Current justices
Vacancies and pending nominations
See also
*
Courts of Delaware Courts of Delaware include:
;State courts of Delaware
*Delaware Supreme Court
**Delaware Court of Chancery
** Delaware Superior Court (3 courts, one for each county)
*** Delaware Family Court
***Delaware Court of Common Pleas
*** Delaware Justice o ...
*
Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog
The Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog serves as a free public resource for the latest developments in Delaware corporate and commercial law by providing summaries of key corporate and commercial court decisions from the Delaware Co ...
*
State supreme court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by #Terminology, other names in some states) is the supreme court, highest court in the State court (United States), state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of State law (United States), st ...
References
External links
Supreme Court of DelawareSupreme Court Internal Operating Procedures*
{{authority control
Delaware state courts
State supreme courts of the United States
1841 establishments in Delaware
Courts and tribunals established in 1841