The Delaware Supreme Court is the sole
appellate
In law, an appeal is the process in which Legal case, 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 cla ...
court in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
state of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
. Because Delaware is a popular haven for
corporations
A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...
, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source of
corporate law
Corporate law (also known as company law or enterprise law) is the body of law governing the rights, relations, and conduct of persons, companies, organizations and businesses. The term refers to the legal practice of law relating to corpora ...
decisions, particularly in the area of
mergers and acquisitions
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
.
[Thomas Lee Hazen and Jerry W. Markham, ''Corporations and Other Business Enterprises'' (2003) ]
Jurisdiction
The Supreme Court has
appellate jurisdiction
An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...
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 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 S ...
over
writ
In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...
s of
mandamus
A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...
,
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 b ...
, 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 a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...
. 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 cour ...
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 ...
requirements, and the
unauthorized practice of law.
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'' (; alternatively ''in banc'', ''in banco'' or ''in bank''; ) session is when all the judges of a court sit to hear a case, not just one judge or a smaller panel of judges.
For courts like the United States Courts of Appeal ...
''. 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, southeast 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 southeast 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 (or constitutional alteration) 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 alt ...
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'' (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 is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
' decision to pay a bidder
greenmail, 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'' (1985): Expanded the modern doctrine of the
business judgment rule 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 rule – and receive a more favorable level of scrutiny under the "entire fairness" standard – if 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 assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...
will not be revealed via a
Doe subpoena directed to his or her
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...
in a
defamation
Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
suit, unless the plaintiff has alleged facts sufficient to overcome
summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment, also referred to as judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition, is a Judgment (law), judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full Trial (law), trial. Summa ...
. This decision has the practical effect of prohibiting
SLAPP suits or similar
litigation
A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...
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 that is not a Party (law), party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Wheth ...
'' briefs were filed on behalf of the anonymous blogger by the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million.
T ...
and the
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an American international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1990 to promote Internet civil liberties.
It provides funds for legal defense in court, ...
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, Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the
Governor of Delaware, subject to confirmation by the
Delaware Senate and serve a term of office of 12 years. Additionally, like all the
Courts of Delaware, 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
Composition :
See also
*
Courts of Delaware
*
Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog
*
State supreme court
In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in ...
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