DOVER, Del. (AP) - Gov. John Carney’s decision to defend a state mandate for political balance on Delaware’s courts that has been declared unconstitutional has cost state taxpayers just under $47,000.
A federal judge this week approved an agreement calling for the state to pay attorney fees for the lawyer who successfully challenged the political balance mandate.
The judge ruled in 2017 that the political balance provision in Delaware’s constitution violates the First Amendment by restricting government employment based on political affiliation.
An appeals court panel upheld that ruling, saying that limiting membership on Delaware’s Chancery, Superior and Supreme courts to Democrats and Republicans was unconstitutional.
Carney twice tried unsuccessfully to have the full appeals court consider the case. He has not ruled out asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear it.
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