A retired Delaware Supreme Court justice who made waves as both the youngest person appointed to the state’s highest court and the longest-serving justice died on Tuesday. He was 75.
Justice Randy Holland, who retired in March 2017 after 30 years on the bench, was appointed to three 12-year terms by three separate governors, beginning in 1986 with then-Gov. Mike Castle. He remained even as the court saw historic turnover in which former Gov. Jack Markell picked four new jurists, including the chief justice, in one year.
“Delaware just lost one of its true servants,” said former Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo Strine Jr., who served with Holland from 2014 to 2017.
“No one loved our state or its bar more than Justice Holland …. We will miss his friendship and are profoundly sorry for his family’s irreplaceable loss.”
BACKGROUND:Del.’s longest-serving Supreme Court justice to retire
During his time on the bench, Holland wrote more than 700 reported opinions and several thousand case dispositive orders. While he was known as an expert on state constitutional law, he was also an avid Delaware historian.
Over the years, he wrote or co-authored 10 books, including two on the Delaware Constitution, two histories of the Delaware Supreme Court, and a history of the Delaware bar in the 20th century.
Many lawyers newly admitted to the Delaware bar would receive one of Holland’s books.
Current Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz called Holland one of the state’s “greatest public servants,” adding that the retired justice “championed the highest ethical standards for Delaware lawyers and judges.”
But more than that, Seitz said, Holland will be “most remembered for is his kindness, humility and graciousness, and his personal notes written with a blue felt tip pen.”
State elected officials echoed Seitz, with Gov. John Carney calling Holland a “thoughtful, model jurist.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Carper said the state of Delaware, as well as its judicial system, “is a better place because of his service on the bench.”
And the Delaware Senate Majority Caucus said its members had worked with Holland for the last few months, guiding them “through unexplored sections of the Delaware Constitution.”
“During that time, we discovered Justice Holland’s reputation was well deserved, but also somehow fell short of capturing the kindness, humor, and grace he brought to every meeting and phone call,” a statement said.
Holland grew up in Milford and graduated from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a master of laws in the judicial process from the University of Virginia Law School.
Holland spent his early career as a partner at Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell.
He is survived by his wife of more than 50 years, Dr. Ilona Holland, their son Ethan, daughter-in-law Jen, and granddaughters Rori and Chloe.
The Delaware Supreme Court will recognize Holland “in a future event,” Seitz said.
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