WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware filed a Freedom of Information Act request to the Delaware Governor’s Office to reveal the members of the 12-person Judicial Nominating Commission, which is tasked with recommending nominees to fill judicial vacancies on the Delaware Supreme Court, Court of Chancery, Superior Court, Family Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Peace Courts.
The Commission, which is ordered by law to “reflect the broad diversity of the citizenry of Delaware,” is nonetheless completely hidden from public view, making it impossible for concerned citizens to ascertain how it fills that order. Moreover, Governor John Carney has hidden behind the Commission to defend his own non-diverse appointments to fill court vacancies, telling WBOC in 2020 that “I can only appoint individuals who are sent before me by the Judicial Nominating Committee.”
Since the appointment of Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the Delaware Supreme Court in 2019, Governor Carney has failed to nominate a single person of color to the state’s Supreme Court or the Court of Chancery.
Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign Manager Chris Coffey, “From top to bottom, the Delaware judicial nominating process is designed to deflect public scrutiny away from those in positions of power. It’s egregious that Governor Carney, who is responsible for directly appointing 11 of the 12 members of the Judicial Nomination Commission, then turns around and blames that Commission for the dearth of diverse nominees to fill judicial vacancies.
“The very least we should demand is for that Commission, which is imbued with the power to recommend justices who make decisions affecting hundreds of thousands of Delawareans, to list its members publicly. We’re sick and tired of ‘Delaware Way’ which lets unelected and unaccountable ‘officials’ make decisions behind closed doors that impact every single Delawarean.
“There can be no accountability without public review. We are calling on Governor Carney to immediately release the names and professional affiliations of all 11 members of the Judicial Nominating Commission.”
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware recently launched a $550,000+ ad buy for their new ad - “Sharpton” - featuring civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton contrasting President Biden’s actions to diversify the federal court system with the failure of Delaware’s leaders, including Governor John Carney, to do the same.
Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware is a group made up of more than 5,000 members including employees of the global translation services company TransPerfect, as well as concerned Delaware residents, business executives, and others. They formed in April of 2016 to focus on raising awareness with Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented forced sale of TransPerfect. While their primary goal of saving the company has been accomplished, they continue their efforts to fight for more transparency in the Delaware Chancery Court. For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware or to join the cause, visit DelawareForBusiness.org.
