In December a federal judge overturned a 100-year-old portion of Delaware’s constitution requiring state judgeships be split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats. The motion filed Wednesday claims Carney ignored the court’s ruling and continues to consider party affiliation when appointing state judges.
The plaintiff in the case is Attorney James Adams, an independent who went through the proceedings for the most recent available judgeship in the state but was not selected. His counsel is Attorney David Finger.
“This ruling is nothing new,” said Finger. “It’s just the latest in a series of lines that say, ‘unless you have a policy maker position in the Government, your politics are irrelevant to the job position, so they should not be taken into account when being hired or being fired.’”
The judge’s initial decision cited the First Amendment in deeming the Delaware law unconstitutional.
“That one should be free to affiliate one’s self with whatever party one wants without being punished for it,” adds Finger.
Adams’s motion says Carney has already appointed one New Castle County judge with consideration to party affiliation, and is advertising to do the same with two more upcoming vacancies--one in New Castle County and one in Sussex County.
The motion seeks a specific order from a judge stating the Governor is in violation of December's ruling.
