U.S. District Court Strikes Down Delaware Law Requiring All State Judges to be Registered Republicans or Registered Democrats

On December 6, U.S. District Court Magistrate Mary Pat Thynge, a Bush Sr. appointee, struck down a Delaware state constitutional provision that says, “Three of the five Justices of the Supreme Court shall be of one major political party, and two of said Justices shall be of the other major political party.” Also struck down was a similar provision relating to Judges of the Superior Court. Adams v Carney, 1:17cv-181.

Here is the 14-page decision. It is based on U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have struck down laws that let states make hiring and firing decisions for government employees based on that employee’s party affiliation. Those past U.S. Supreme Court opinions do not apply to policy-making jobs, but the decision in Adams v Carney says judges aren’t policy-makers.

Delaware defines “major party” to be a group with registration membership of at least 5% of the state total. No party other then the Democratic and Republican Parties has ever been a “major party” in Delaware, in the entire history of the government-printed ballot.

The state tried to defend its law by arguing that the plaintiff, a registered independent, didn’t have standing because he wasn’t likely to be appointed to a Delaware judicial post anyway. The state also attacked him because he changed his registration from “Democrat” to “independent” just the day before he filed the lawsuit. The plaintiff said he left the Democratic Party because it is not progressive enough. Thanks to Michael Drucker for news about this decision.


Comments

U.S. District Court Strikes Down Delaware Law Requiring All State Judges to be Registered Republicans or Registered Democrats — 5 Comments

  1. Seems obvious that the law awfully unfair but it’s explained by the long horrible history of bipartisanship and insane ballot access.

  2. I’m curious how this relates to the Washington D.C. city council, with their two independent seats that are guaranteed to not go to Democrats.

  3. Washington, DC and several other cities use limited voting, which forbids parties from contesting all the seats. That system has generally been upheld in several places, although something somewhat similar in Indianapolis partisan judicial races was struck down by the 7th circuit earlier this year.

  4. ANY *GUARANTEED* STUFF is a direct subversion of

    — the 2 *NO title of nobility* clauses I-9-8 and I-10-1

    — and the *republican form of govt* in Art. IV, Sec. 4.

    Just more of the de facto DEAD USA Const

    — due to the nonstop minority rule gerrymander systems since 1776-1789

    — producing the worse and worse monarch/oligarch statist MONSTERS since 1776-1789.

    Sound Democracy General Quarters. This is NO drill.

    PR and AppV

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