By Sarah Mueller
Delaware could soon see its first African American justice on the state Supreme Court. Gov. John Carney nominated Associate Justice Collins Seitz to be the state’s next Chief Justice.
Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor Tamika Montgomery-Reeves, a Black woman, would take his spot as an associate justice.
Seitz would replace Chief Justice Leo Strine, who is retiring next week. Seitz has served as an associate justice since 2015. Before that, he was a founding partner of the Seitz Ross Aronstam & Moritz law firm.
“Justice Seitz is one of Delaware’s finest legal minds, and I’m pleased to send his nomination to the Delaware Senate,” Carney said in a statement.
Montgomery-Reeves joined the Chancery Court in 2015. She practiced law in Wilmington and New York before becoming a judge.
“Since 2015, Vice Chancellor Montgomery-Reeves has served with distinction on Delaware’s Court of Chancery – our country’s premier venue for corporate litigation,” Carney said. “She’s the right person to serve as the next Associate Justice on our Supreme Court.”
Carney has been urged to pick a candidate of color for Delaware’s highest court. State Sen. Darius Brown, along with groups like the Hispanic and South Asian Bar Associations, pushed for him to consider ethnicity and racial diversity in his decision.
“I applaud Gov. Carney’s picks and especially want to highlight the importance of increasing diversity in our judiciary,” State Sen. Brown said in a statement Thursday. “I look forward to the special session early next month and feel confident that our Supreme Court will continue to set the standard in Delaware and around the nation.”
The state Senate will consider the nominations Nov. 7.
