To restore trust in Delaware’s courts, diversify the Supreme Court


The Rev. Al Sharpton and Keandra McDole

The U.S. Senate recently confirmed Delaware Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve on the prestigious 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

While President Joe Biden’s commitment to diversifying the federal bench continues to be a historic success, the net effect for Delaware’s judicial system amounts to robbing Peter to pay Paul. That’s because Montgomery-Reeves’ confirmation will once again leave Delaware with an all-white Supreme Court — in a state that is almost a quarter Black and 10% Latino.

Montgomery-Reeves deserves praise for her historic achievements, but judicial diversity cannot be a game of musical chairs. It’s a sacred value of representative democracy because it ensures that the courts’ rulings are driven by protections for the people, not self-interest.

Delaware Gov.John Carney is failing this principle because the state’s courts continue to be dominated by a clique of influential legal insiders who leverage their positions for power and profit — doled out in judicial rulings in both the State Supreme Court, and the powerful Court of Chancery. This old boys’ club is populated almost exclusively by wealthy, white, male lawyers and judges deeply connected to Delaware’s political establishment. These powerful elites make self-interest and self protection the dominant legal virtue, and too often, backslapping and back-scratching seem more relevant to legal rulings than do case law or precedent.

This appalling lack of diversity on Delaware’s bench corresponds with controversial decisions that erode the public’s faith in the entire judiciary — such as a devastating rollback of voting rights for Delawareans just weeks ahead of the 2022 midterms elections. The decision to curtail vote-by-mail and same-day registration was decided and affirmed by two separate all-white panels of judges. 

These laws, which make it easier for people to legally cast their votes, provide additional reliable options to vote for those historically shut out of the political process. Yet the all-white courts sitting atop the Delaware judicial system struck down these laws on specious grounds. It’s easy to see how a bench composed of diverse jurists would have seen the need to protect access to the voting booth, not further erode it. 



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