In a case closely watched by corporate America, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a Third Circuit decision and ruled in favor of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s client, restoring Delaware’s 122-year-old requirement that its three top courts have a balance between major political parties on their benches.

In a unanimous 8-0 decision, the Court ruled on behalf of Governor John Carney in Carney v. Adams, establishing that John Adams, a Delaware Independent, lacked standing to challenge his state’s party-balancing requirements for judges on its highest courts because he had not yet applied for any judgeships on those courts. 

“The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision today leaves two provisions of Delaware’s Constitution—the ‘bare majority’ and ‘major party’ provisions—fully intact,” said Steffen Johnson, Wilson Sonsini partner and chair of the firm’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice. “That’s a terrific victory for Governor Carney, the people of Delaware, and businesses across the globe, which have long looked to Delaware’s courts for stable, fair-minded, and non-partisan decision-making.”

The “bare majority provision” states that no more than a bare majority of members of any of Delaware’s five major courts may belong to any one political party. The “major party provision,” on the other hand, requires, for three of those courts, that the remaining members belong to “the other major political party.” The Court’s opinion vacated earlier adverse judgments by the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, with instructions for the district court to dismiss the case. 

Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Breyer explained: “This case begins and ends with standing,” a longstanding doctrine based on the Constitution’s requirement that the federal courts decide only concrete “cases” and “controversies.” After noting that Adams has passed up applying for “a combined total of 14 openings” for judicial posts before filing suit, the Court held that he had not shown that he was “‘able and ready’ to apply for a judgeship.” Adams had merely “suffered a ‘generalized grievance’” because he, “like all citizens of Delaware, must live and work within a State that (in his view) imposes unconstitutional requirements for eligibility on three of its courts.”  Relying on the record evidence highlighted in the Governor’s briefs and discussing the leading standing precedents, Justice Breyer concluded that Adams “has failed to show that ‘personal,’ ‘concrete,’ and ‘imminent’ injury upon which our standing precedents insist.”

Justice Barrett, who had not been confirmed when the case was argued, did not participate. Justice Sotomayor added a short concurrence.

Wilson Sonsini Senior Of Counsel and former Tenth Circuit judge Michael McConnell argued the case—the first of the current term—on behalf of Governor Carney in October. The team from Wilson Sonsini representing Governor Carney in the matter also included Johnson, Senior Of Counsel and former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy Holland, and associates Brian Levy and Ed Powell. 

“Today’s opinion leaves in place the provisions for a politically balance judiciary that first appeared in the 1897 Delaware Constitution. These unique features in the Delaware Constitution have resulted in a highly respected judiciary that is known for its non-partisan decision making,” added Holland.

Wilson Sonsini has a dedicated Supreme Court and Appellate Practice, most recently bolstered by the additions of Johnson and McConnell, who joined the firm in 2019. The firm’s appellate attorneys have prevailed in high-profile cases involving significant issues of law, particularly in antitrust, consumer fraud, intellectual property, and securities litigation matters. Wilson Sonsini’s appellate attorneys have also litigated landmark internet and privacy law cases.

About Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

For nearly 60 years, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offered a broad range of services and legal disciplines focused on serving the principal challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leader in the fields of corporate governance and finance, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities litigation, employment law, intellectual property, and antitrust, among many other areas of law. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati has offices in Austin; Beijing; Boston; Brussels; Hong Kong; London; Los Angeles; New York; Palo Alto; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Shanghai; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington, DE. For more information, please visit www.wsgr.com.