Delaware Legal Overview The Delaware Supreme Court is the highest court in Delaware, with one Chief Justice and four associate justices appointed by the Governor and ratified by the Senate for a 12-year term. Delaware also has a Chancery Court for corporate disputes and a Superior Court as a trial court with general jurisdiction. The Justice of the Peace Court and the Court of Common Pleas have limited jurisdiction over civil cases not exceeding $15,000 and $50,000 respectively, along with criminal cases involving misdemeanors and preliminary hearings for felony cases. Court of Common Pleas appeals are taken up by the Superior Court.
Top metro Delaware areas for Legal Issues: Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD
1. Capital punishment is legal in Delaware. In Delaware v. Prouse (1979), the U.S. Supreme Court made it unconstitutional for police to stop vehicles just to check license and registration. The Delaware courts are better known for their pro-business tilts in a string of cases in the 1980s. In Smith v. Van Gorkom (1985), the Delaware Supreme Court expanded the fiduciary duties required by a corporate board to include the duty of care, alongside good faith and loyalty. In Mills Acquisition Co. v. Macmillan, Inc. (1989), they ruled that a board can refuse take-over bids without calling for a shareholder vote. 2. More than 20years after releasing her well-known song "Vogue," Madonna is being sued by VMG, a Delaware-based company, claiming the track samples thesong "Love Break" from 1977. 3. The attorney general of Delaware announced a trade practices lawsuit against a business that runs a nationwide electronic mortgage registry.
Trending Delaware Legal Topics: The Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA) is a non-unified body established in 1923. There are more than 2,800 attorneys licensed to practice law in Delaware. About 90 percent of them are members of DSBA, although it is not mandatory. Bar exams are administered by the Board of Bar Examiners of the Supreme Court of Delaware. Complaints about judicial misconduct come under the jurisdiction of the Court on the Judiciary. |