Delaware’s Political Party Rule for Judges Unconstitutional

A 120-year-old rule in Delaware that requires courts in the state to maintain a balance of Democratic and Republican judges violates the rights of a would-be judge who belongs to neither party, a federal appeals court ruled.

The provision in question—Article IV, Section 3 of the Delaware Constitution—prevents any political party from having more than a “bare majority” of seats on Delaware’s courts. The 1897 rule also mandates the rest of the seats be filled by members of “the other major political party.”

James R. Adams, a retired attorney and a former assistant state solicitor under Attorney General Beau Biden, ...