Citizens for Judicial Fairness, has taken issue with Bonnie David being named master in the Delaware Court of Chancery.
“The addition of yet another plugged-in white Skadden attorney to the Delaware judiciary – particularly one with as much national reach and impact as the Chancery makes a mockery of the values of inclusion and equal opportunity. There are country clubs with more diversity than this powerful court,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. The New York pastor has become a spokesman for the group seeking greater diversity in the Delaware court system. “That’s an outrage anywhere — but it’s particularly offensive in a state where 30% of the people are nonwhite. It’s long past time to break the stranglehold of the elite and powerful on the institutions of justice, and add more legal leaders of color to the bench.”
The group has its roots in a dispute over the sale of New York translation services company TransPerfect and unhappiness with billing practices for a custodian associated with Skadden Arps. Its name was changed from Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware to reflect the focus on the state’s judiciary.
The master’s position handles matters that include guardianships or disputes between owners and condo associations. Masters are paid $127,000 a year.
While Chancery Court itself has no persons of color, the same is not true for the master’s position, which has a Black member. Masters are appointed by Chancery Court.
“The Chancery Court is as large as it’s ever been, yet remains — like the entire Delaware judiciary — overwhelmingly white. This isn’t just a missed opportunity to build a fair court system — it’s the continuation of an entrenched system where the rich and powerful law firms like Skadden amass and wield judicial power. Everyone else is shut out of the process, with their noses pressed against the window as key decisions that affect the lives of all Delarareans every single day are handed down imperiously,” said police and judicial critic Keandra McDole. “It’s a slap in the face.”
The group is demanding that Delaware Gov. John Carney appoint a person of color to two current openings on the state Supreme Court. The recent elevation of Delaware’s lone Black Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals would leave the chancery and Supreme courts without a person of color.
The state’s judiciary has acknowledged the need for more diversity with Montgomery-Reeves issuing a report that was followed by a strategic plan.
Issues include the lack of a pipeline of black lawyers and lucrative corporate law practices that can lead to attorneys of color earning pay well into the six figures. Chancellors and Supreme Court justices earn under $200,000 a year in Delaware.
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