Delaware

Delaware governor’s attorney ‘eager to defend’ Delaware’s party-balance judicial-selection rule before SCOTUS

Delaware Law Weekly

On Monday, attorneys representing Delaware Gov. John Carney are set to argue to the U.S. Supreme Court that the state’s longstanding requirement of politically balanced courts is constitutional.

Carney, who is represented by attorneys from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse decisions made by the district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, both of which sided with retired attorney James Adams and determined the Delaware provisions in question violated the First Amendment.

“The fact that the court took the case suggests that the justices have at least serious questions about what happened below,” said Steffen Johnson, chair of Wilson Sonsini’s Supreme Court and appellate practice and one of the attorneys who will be present for Monday’s phone argument. “We believe the theory that the plaintiff is pressing stretches the Supreme Court decisions that he’s relying on beyond the breaking point.”

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California judge says right to jury trial overrides agreement to litigate in Delaware

Delaware Business Court Insider

A California plaintiff can’t be made to take his case to the Delaware Court of Chancery, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled in what that plaintiff’s attorney says is likely the first decision to address the issue.

The trial judge’s ruling in the case filed by William West against Access Control Related Enterprises LLC, issued by Judge David J. Cowan of the Los Angeles County Superior Court on July 29, stated that enforcing a forum selection clause requiring a California resident to pursue a case in the Court of Chancery violates Californians’ constitutional right to a jury trial, unless a defendant can prove doing so would not infringe on that right.

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How Delaware courts have kept running during COVID-19

Delaware Business Court Insider

More than three months since Delaware’s judiciary first declared a state of emergency, state courts have reported there likely won’t be much of a case load to catch up on as courthouse activity ramps back up.

Since courtrooms were first closed to the public March 23 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the judiciary and attorneys have been using remote methods to keep cases moving, many of which are being carried into the courts’ reopening stages.

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