Delaware Supreme Court
Seal of the Supreme Court of Delaware
Interactive map of Delaware Supreme Court
Established	1841
Jurisdiction	Delaware, United States
Location	Wilmington, Delaware
Authorized by	Delaware Constitution
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United States
Judge term length	12 years
Number of positions	5
Website	Official website
Chief Justice
Currently	Collins J. Seitz Jr.
Since	November 8, 2019

TheDelaware Supreme Court is the soleappellate court in theUnited States state ofDelaware. Because Delaware is a popular haven forcorporations, the Court has developed a worldwide reputation as a respected source ofcorporate law decisions, particularly in the area ofmergers and acquisitions.^[1]

The Supreme Court hasappellate jurisdiction over direct appeals from theSuperior Court, Family Court, andCourt of Chancery. Because it is the only appellate court in the state, its jurisdiction over appeals from final orders is mandatory. However, it hasdiscretionary jurisdiction over appeals frominterlocutory orders.

The Court hasoriginal jurisdiction overwrits ofmandamus,prohibition, andcertiorari. In addition, the Court regulates and hasexclusive jurisdiction over matters concerning the admission and discipline of lawyers, the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection,continuing legal education requirements, and theunauthorized practice of law.

Constitutionally, the Chief Justice is the chief administrative officer of the entire Delaware judicial system and has the responsibility for securing funding for the courts from the Delaware General Assembly.

Motions are normally handled in chambers by a motions justice. Arguments on motions are uncommon.

While the Court's appellate jurisdiction is mandatory, it is not required to hear oral argument. Typically between sixty and seventy-five percent of its decisions are rendered on briefs. If a case involves a novel question of law or the justices desire clarification, oral argument is called. Each attorney in oral argument is given 20 minutes to present its side, except for capital cases, in which each side is given 30 minutes.

Most cases are heard by a panel of three justices. In certain cases set forth in Rule 1 of the Court's Rules, the Court will siten banc. These cases include cases where a criminal defendant has been sentenced to death, where the three justice panel cannot reach a unanimous decision, or where the Court has been asked to modify or overrule existing precedent.

In cases being heard by a three justice panel, the lawyers presenting argument do not know the identity of the justices hearing the argument until the justices enter the courtroom.

Arguments are normally held each Wednesday beginning at 10:00 a.m. inDover, the state capital. Occasionally, the Court will hear arguments in special locations, such as theWidener University School of Law. The Court has a courtroom inWilmington, but it is rarely used.

The Court in its current form was established by means of aconstitutional amendment in 1951. Before that, the Court had operated under the Delaware Constitution of 1897 as a unique "leftover-judge" system, wherein appeals were heard by a panel of three judges who were not involved in the matter on appeal from either the Superior Court or the Court of Chancery. In 1978, the Court's size was expanded from three to five. Prior to 1897, Delaware's highest court was the Court of Errors & Appeals, which operated under a similar "leftover-judge" system.

• Cheff v. Mathes (1964): The first time the Delaware Supreme Court addressed problems of board of directors conflict of interest in a takeover setting. In this case, the court applied intermediate scrutiny to theboard of directors' decision to pay a biddergreenmail, stating that directors must have "reasonable grounds to believe a danger to corporate policy and effectiveness existed by [the bidder's] stock ownership. [D]irectors satisfy their burden by showing good faith and reasonable investigation[.]"
• Smith v. Van Gorkom (1985): Expanded the modern doctrine of thebusiness judgment rule to include the duty of care, often called negligence. Under the general business judgment rule, a Delaware court will not second-guess the decisions of a board of directors absent a breach of one of three fiduciary duties: good faith, due care, or loyalty. A plaintiff may overcome the business judgment rule – and receive a more favorable level of scrutiny under the "entire fairness" standard – if the plaintiff can show that the directors' decision lacked any rational basis (sometimes called waste).
• Unocal v. Mesa Petroleum (1985): A board of directors may only try to prevent a take-over where it can be shown that there was a threat to corporate policy and the defensive measure adopted was proportional and reasonable given the nature of the threat.
• Revlon v. McAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc. (1986): If a company is up for sale, the board of directors has a duty to maximize the value of that sale for the shareholders' benefit.
• Mills Acquisition Co. v. Macmillan, Inc. (1989): A board of directors may refuse a takeover attempt without submitting the matter to a vote of shareholders.
• Paramount v. QVC (1993): If a board of directors is about to consider selling, dissolving, or transferring control of a corporation, they are prohibited from considering non-shareholder interests and have a duty to maximize shareholder value.
• John Doe No. 1 v. Cahill (2005): Ananonymous blogger'sIP address will not be revealed via aDoe subpoena directed to his or herInternet service provider in adefamation suit, unless the plaintiff has alleged facts sufficient to overcomesummary judgment. This decision has the practical effect of prohibitingSLAPP suits or similarlitigation designed to quell dissent or unpopular comment.Cahill was the first suit of its kind in the nation;amicus curiae briefs were filed on behalf of the anonymous blogger by theAmerican Civil Liberties Union and theElectronic Frontier Foundation.[1]
• Unitrin, Inc. v. American General Corp. (1995): Directors' power to block hostile takeovers

As outlined by Article IV of theConstitution of Delaware, Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by theGovernor of Delaware, subject to confirmation by theDelaware Senate and serve a term of office of 12 years. Additionally, like all theCourts of Delaware, the Supreme Court is subject to a "bare majority" partisanship rule, where no party can control more than three seats on the Supreme Court.

Composition as of 22 May 2023^[update]:

• Courts of Delaware
• Delaware Corporate and Commercial Litigation Blog
• State supreme court

• Supreme Court of Delaware
• Supreme Court Internal Operating Procedures
• "Delaware",Caselaw Access Project, Harvard Law School,OCLC 1078785565,Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of theHarvard Law Library

39°44′36″N75°32′46″W / 39.743288°N 75.546107°W /39.743288; -75.546107

• Delaware Supreme Court
• Delaware state courts
• State supreme courts of the United States
• 1841 establishments in Delaware
• Courts and tribunals established in 1841

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