In Which John Carney Becomes A Profligate Spender

Over $376,000-worth.  What could possibly compel John Carney to spend that much taxpayers’ money?

The answer: Defending Delaware’s quaint, but likely unconstitutional, requirement that state courts in Delaware must be politically-balanced.

Matt Bittle has the story right here.

First, this requirement is a crock, and everybody in the legal community knows it.  Over the time I’ve worked in the General Assembly, more than a few barristers changed their political affiliation for the sole purpose of obtaining a judgeship.  So the vaunted political balance of Delaware courts is artificial, regardless of which Party holds the Governor’s office. And, as the lawsuit pointed out, what about registered independents?  Why is belonging to a political party a prerequisite for serving as a judge?

Carney has lost twice in Federal court. Here:

But a federal court disagreed, with Mary Pat Thynge, chief magistrate judge for the District of Delaware, striking down the law in December 2017.

The judicial balance requirement “violates the First Amendment by placing a restriction on governmental employment based on political affiliation in the Delaware judiciary,” she wrote. “The narrow exception of political affiliation does not apply because the role of the judiciary is to interpret statutory intent and not to enact or amend it.”

And here:

Last month, a three-member panel for the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded “portions of Delaware’s constitution that limit Adams’s ability to apply for a judicial position while associating with the political party of his choice violate his First Amendment right.”

John, cut your, and the taxpayers’, losses.  A ‘balanced judiciary’ is an antiquated notion that, while it may appeal to the ‘dutiful son’ in you, serves no worthwhile purpose. Appoint as many D judges as you can, and press the Senate to approve them. You are a Democrat. Aren’t you?