Gary Francis Traynor (born August 25, 1956) is an American lawyer who serves as a

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the

Delaware Supreme Court The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole appellate court in the United States state of Delaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven for corporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of corporate law decision ...

. Traynor was born in Dover, Delaware, in 1956, and graduated from Dover High School. He completed a bachelor's degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1978, and a J.D. degree at

Widener University Delaware Law School 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 Univ ...

in 1982. Traynor was in private practice in Dover from 1982 to 1990 at the law firm Brown, Shiels & Chasanov, and in Wilmington from 1990 to 2014 at the law firm Prickett, Jones & Elliot. He also served as an officer in the

Delaware Army National Guard The Delaware Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. National coordination of various state National Guard units are maintained through the National Guard Bureau. The Delaware Army Na ...

from 1990 to 1991, and was a commissioner on the

Delaware River and Bay Authority The Delaware River and Bay Authority or DRBA is a bi-state government agency of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Delaware established by an interstate compact in 1962. The authority operates the Delaware Memorial twin suspension bridges, t ...

from 2009 to 2014. Traynor worked for the state as an assistant public defender for Sussex County from 2015 to 2017. On February 9, 2017,

justice Randy J. Holland announced that he would retire from the court at the end of March. On May 14, 2017, 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 ...

John Carney announced that he would nominate Traynor to the vacant seat. Carney and Traynor went to the same

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, played on the same football team, and also attended Dartmouth together. Traynor is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor 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 ...

Carney, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, was required to nominate a Republican to replace Holland under state law, because no party can have more than three members on the state's supreme court. 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 wh ...

unanimously confirmed Traynor's nomination on June 7, 2017. His twelve-year term on the

began on July 5, 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traynor, Gary 1956 births Living people 21st-century American judges Dartmouth College alumni Delaware Republicans Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court People from Dover, Delaware Public defenders Widener University School of Law alumni Dover High School (Delaware) alumni