Judges who have served on the Superior Court bench (arranged by appointment date):

UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1831

Hon. James R. Black—Appointed by Governor David Hazzard and began service on January 18, 1832; died in 1839.

Hon. Thomas Clayton—Appointed by Governor David Hazzard and began service on January 18, 1832; in 1808 he was appointed Delaware Secretary of State by Governor George Truitt; in 1811 Governor Joseph Haslet appointed him Attorney General of the State of Delaware; in 1814 he was elected to the United States House of Representatives; in 1824, when Caesar Rodney resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate, the Delaware General Assembly elected Clayton to fill the unexpired term where he served until 1828 when he was appointed by Governor Charles Polk as Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas; in 1837 he was again elected by the General Assembly to fill out an unexpired term of a U.S. Senator—this time that of his cousin, John M. Clayton; he was elected to another full term in the Senate in 1842.

Hon. Samuel M. Harrington—Appointed by Governor David Hazzard and began service January 18, 1832; had previously served as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from October 16, 1830 until the constitution changed and he became an Associate Judge; appointed Chief Justice of Delaware again on April 3, 1855; became Chancellor of the Court of Chancery on May 4, 1857; died November 28, 1865.

Hon. Peter S. Robinson—Appointed by Governor David Hazzard and began service on January 18, 1832, serving until his death in 1836; three times appointed Secretary of State for Delaware before assuming his position on the bench.

Hon. Caleb S. Layton—Appointed by Governor Charles Polk and began service on June 3, 1836, serving until 1844; had previously served in the General Assembly from 1826 to 1830; served as Secretary of State for Delaware from 1833 to 1836.

Hon. John M. Clayton—Appointed by Governor Charles Polk and began service on January 16, 1837, serving until September of 1839; previously served in the United States Senate from 1829 until 1836; in 1845 he was again elected to the Senate, remaining there until March of 1849 when President Zachary Taylor named him U.S. Secretary of State; he resigned in 1850 upon President Taylor's death; thereafter he resumed his seat in the Senate where he remained until his death on November 9, 1856. Clayton Hall at the University of Delaware is named in his honor.

Hon. Richard H. Bayard—Appointed by Governor Cornelius P. Comegys as Chief Justice of Delaware and began service on September 19, 1839, serving until March of 1841.

Hon. John J. Milligan—Appointed by Governor Cornelius P. Comegys and began service on September 19, 1839, retired in 1864 after serving on the bench for 25 years; died April 20, 1875.

Hon. James Booth Jr.—Appointed by Governor William B. Cooper as Chief Justice of Delaware and began service on March 12, 1841, serving until April of 1855.

Hon. David Hazzard—Appointed by Governor William B. Cooper and began service on December 10, 1844; only person in state's history to be appointed an Associate Judge without having been a lawyer; was governor from 1830 to 1833; had served as a Justice of the Peace prior to becoming Associate Judge, which position he held for three years.

Hon. Edward Wootten—Appointed by Governor William Thorp and began service on September 6, 1847, serving until his death on March 1, 1887.

Hon. John W. Houston—Appointed by Governor Peter F. Causey and began service on May 4, 1855; after serving as an Associate Judge, served three terms in the United States House of Representatives; died in 1896.

Hon. Edward W. Gilpin—Appointed by Governor Peter F. Causey as Chief Justice of Delaware and began service on May 6, 1857, serving until May of 1876.

Hon. Leonard E. Wales—Appointed by Governor William Cannon and began service on September 2, 1864; became a United States District Court Judge on March 20, 1884; died March 27, 1943.

Hon. Joseph P. Comegys—Appointed by Governor John P. Cochran as Chief Justice of Delaware and began service on May 18, 1876, serving until January of 1893.

Hon. William G. Whiteley—Appointed by Governor Charles C. Stockley and began service on March 31, 1884; previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1856 to 1860 and was elected Mayor of Wilmington in 1873; died April 23, 1886.

Hon. Ignatius C. Grubb—Appointed by Governor Charles C. Stockley and began service on May 25, 1886, serving until June 15, 1909; also served as Secretary of State for the State of Delaware; died June 20, 1927.

Hon. John H. Paynter—Appointed by Governor Benjamin T. Biggs and began service on March 25, 1887, serving until his death on June 25, 1890; previously appointed Secretary of State for Delaware in 1871.

Hon. Charles M. Cullen—Appointed by Governor Benjamin T. Biggs and began service on August 28, 1890, serving until June 18, 1897; also served as Chairman of the Delaware State Highway Department.

Hon. Alfred P. Robinson—Appointed by Governor Robert J. Reynolds and began service on January 26, 1893, serving but two months as Chief Justice of Delaware.

Hon. Charles B. Lore—Appointed by Governor Robert J. Reynolds and began service on March 21, 1893; appointed under the Constitution of 1897 on June 12, 1897, by Governor Ebe W. Tunnell as Chief Justice of Delaware, serving until June of 1909.

Hon. David T. Marve—Appointed by Governor Robert J. Reynolds and began service on February 1, 1894; retired in 1898; died November 21, 1931.

UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1897

Hon. William C. Spruance—Appointed by Governor Ebe W. Tunnell and began service on June 11, 1897, serving until June 11, 1909; previously served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware from 1876 to 1880.

Hon. James Pennewill—Appointed by Governor Ebe W. Tunnell and began service on June 14, 1897 as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and Resident Judge of Kent County; Appointed chief Justice of Delaware on June 15, 1909, by Governor Simeon S. Pennewill, his brother, where he served until 1933.

Hon. William H. Boyce—Appointed by Governor Ebe W. Tunnell and began service on June 17, 1897 as Resident Judge of Sussex County; was reappointed in 1909, this time as Resident Judge of Kent County; retired in 1921; served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1923 until 1925.

Hon. Henry C. Conrad—Appointed by Governor Simeon S. Pennewill and began service on June 15, 1909, serving until 1921; served as City Solicitor and Postmaster of the City of Wilmington.

Hon. Victor B. Woolley—Appointed by Governor Simeon S. Pennewill and began service on June 16, 1909; in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson appointed Woolley to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, where he succeeded another Delawarean, George Gray; he served on the Third Circuit until 1935; in 1906 he published Woolley on Delaware Practice; died on February 22, 1945.

Hon. Daniel O. Hastings—Appointed by Governor Simeon S. Pennewill and began service on June 16, 1909 as Resident Judge of New Castle County; he resigned on January 17, 1911; was later appointed U.S. Senator by Governor Robert P. Robinson to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Coleman du Pont during January of 1927; died in 1966.

Hon. Herbert L. Rice—Appointed by Governor Simeon S. Pennewill and began service on March 1, 1911. He died, in office, in 1932.

Hon. Thomas B. Heisel—Appointed by Governor Charles R. Miller and began service on October 14, 1914. He died, in office, in 1921.

Hon. William W. Harrington—Appointed by Governor William D. Denney and began service on June 29, 1921; was reappointed in 1933 by Governor C. Douglass Buck; resigned in 1938 when he was appointed Chancellor of the Court of Chancery by Governor Richard C. McMullen; died on July 18, 1959.

Hon. Richard S. Rodney—Appointed by Governor William E. Denny and began service on January 12, 1922, serving until 1946 when he was appointed to the United States District Court; died on December 22, 1963.

Hon. Charles S. Richards—Appointed by Governor C. Douglass Buck and began service on June 3, 1929 as Resident Judge of Sussex County; became Chief Justice of Delaware on August 14, 1945; became first President Judge of the Superior Court on May 8, 1951; retired from the bench on January 1, 1956; died on October 8, 1971.

Hon. David A. Reinhardt—Appointed by Governor C. Douglass Buck and began service on March 14, 1933, serving until November 22, 1935.

Hon. Daniel J. Layton—Appointed by Governor C. Douglass Buck as Chief Justice of Delaware and began service on July 3, 1933, serving until August of 1945; father of Daniel J. Layton, Jr. and Caleb R. Layton, III.

Hon. Frank L. Speakman—Appointed by Governor C. Douglass Buck and began service on December 18, 1935, serving until 1947; died on March 1, 1971.

Hon. Charles L. Terry Jr.—Appointed by Governor Richard C. McMullen and began service on December 7, 1938; served as President Judge from April 29, 1957, until he was appointed to the Delaware Supreme Court on July 23, 1962, becoming its Chief Justice in May of 1963; resigned as Chief Justice in 1964; elected Governor of the State of Delaware, where he served until 1969; died on February 6, 1970.

Hon. James B. Carey—Appointed by Governor Walter W. Bacon and began service on August 16, 1945, serving until May 16, 1963 when he began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. He died on August 10, 1979.

Hon. G. Burton Pearson Jr.—Appointed by Governor Walter W. Bacon and began service on January 18, 1946, serving until December 21, 1949. He died on December 7, 1999.

Hon. Caleb R. Layton III—Appointed by Governor Walter W. Bacon and began service on December 19, 1947 as Resident Judge of New Castle County; served until April 29, 1957 when he was appointed U.S. District Judge for the District of Delaware; died in May of 1988.

Hon. Daniel F. Wolcott—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on December 22, 1949, serving until his appointment as Chancellor of the Court of Chancery on December 11, 1950; began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on June 5, 1951; appointed Chief Justice on December 13, 1964; died in office on July 10, 1973.

Hon. Daniel L. Herrmann—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on January 12, 1951, serving until his resignation on April 15, 1958; prior to serving on the Superior Court, Judge Herrmann served as an Assistant United States Attorney; he was appointed Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on December 13, 1964 and elevated to Chief Justice on August 9, 1973; he retired from the bench on July 31, 1985; died in 1991.

Hon. William A. Storey—Appointed by Governor J. Caleb Boggs and began service on May 15, 1957 as Resident Judge of Kent County; served until June 30, 1972; had previously served as Delaware Secretary of State and Mayor of the City of Dover; died June 24, 1982..

Hon. Andrew D. Christie—Appointed by Governor J. Caleb Boggs and began service on May 15, 1957, serving until March 30, 1983, when he began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court; elevated to Chief Justice on September 30, 1985; retired February 29, 1992; died on May 28, 1993; previously served as Attorney for the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Hon. Albert J. Stiftel—Appointed by Governor J. Caleb Boggs and began service on April 30, 1958, serving until August 2, 1966, when he became President Judge of the Superior Court, where he served until his retirement on September 25, 1990; previously served as Attorney for the Delaware House of Representatives; died on September 9, 2000.

Hon. Stewart Lynch—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on March 23, 1961, serving until July 26, 1968.

Hon. William Duffy—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on March 23, 1961, was appointed President Judge of the Superior Court on July 23, 1962; served until August 3, 1966 when he began service as Chancellor of the Court of Chancery; began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on August 9, 1973; retired on January 27, 1982; died on September 24, 1998.

Hon. George R. Wright—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on July 23, 1962, serving until June 30, 1972 when he became Resident Judge of Kent County; served until September of 1984; died January 17, 2007.

Hon. John J. McNeilly—Appointed by Governor Elbert N. Carvel and began service on May 16, 1963; began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on October 24, 1974; retired on October 31, 1986; died on January 11, 2001.

Hon. Robert C. O'Hara—Appointed by Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. and began service on March 10, 1966; retired on April 16, 1987; previously served as Attorney for the Delaware State Senate; died August 11, 2010.

Hon. William T. Quillen—Appointed by Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. and began service in Superior Court on March 10, 1966; began service as Chancellor of the Court of Chancery on August 9, 1973; became an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on October 30, 1978; retired from the Delaware Supreme Court on February 28, 1983; reappointed to Superior Court by Governor Thomas R. Carper and resumed service on November 23, 1994; retired from Superior Court on August 30, 2000, and returned to private practice.

Hon. James B. Messick—Appointed by Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. and began service on September 1, 1966; was previously Prothonotary of Kent County and Clerk of the Delaware Supreme Court; died in office on August 1, 1972; previously served as Attorney for the Delaware House of Representatives.

Hon. Vincent A. Bifferato Sr.—Appointed by Governor Charles L. Terry, Jr. and began service on July 26, 1968; was reappointed on August 5, 1980, by Governor Pierre S. du Pont; previously served in the Delaware House of Representatives from 1964 to 1966 and as Chairman of the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission from 1967 to 1968; was appointed Resident Judge of New Castle County on May 8, 1992; retired as of April 1, 2000, and returned to private practice.

Hon. Clarence W. Taylor—Appointed by Governor Russell W. Peterson and began service on July 1, 1972, serving until June 30, 1992; had previously served as Attorney for the New Castle County Levy Court; he died on February 14, 2001.

Hon. Joseph T. Walsh—Appointed by Governor Russell W. Peterson and began service on July 1, 1972, serving until July 1, 1984 when he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery; began service as an Associate Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on September 30, 1985.

Hon. Claud L. Tease—Appointed by Governor Russell W. Peterson and began service on July 1, 1972; became Resident Judge of Sussex County in 1974; previously served as Deputy Attorney General; retired on June 1, 1986.

Hon. William G. Bush III—Appointed by Governor Russell W. Peterson and began service on September 13, 1972; had previously served as Attorney for the Delaware House of Representatives and as a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; was Resident Judge of Kent County, serving until April 30, 1988; died on October 25, 1999.

Bernard Balick—Appointed by Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt and began service on September 25, 1973; served until October 13, 1994 when appointed Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery; had previously served as Chief Deputy Public Defender from 1969 to 1971 and City Solicitor of the City of Wilmington in 1973; retired from Court of Chancery on September 30, 1998.

Hon. Joseph J. Longobardi—Appointed by Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt and began service on November 14, 1974; served until May 14, 1982 when he was appointed Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery; appointed District Judge for the United States District Court on June 14, 1984.

Hon. Joshua W. Martin—Appointed by Governor Pierre S. du Pont and began service on July 23, 1982; retired on December 31, 1989.

Hon. Vincent J. Poppiti—Appointed by Governor Pierre S. du Pont and began service on June 17, 1983; had previously served as State Solicitor and as an Associate Judge in the Family Court; became Resident Judge of New Castle County on January 1, 1990. Retired from the Superior Court on February 1, 1992 to become Chief Judge of the Family Court.

Hon. Henry duPont Ridgely—Appointed by Governor Pierre S. du Pont and began service on September 13, 1984; became Resident Judge of Kent County on May 4, 1988; elevated to President Judge of the Superior Court on September 25, 1990; previously served as Attorney to the Delaware State Senate. Began service as a Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on July 22, 2004.

Hon. Richard S. Gebelein—Appointed by Governor Pierre S. du Pont and began service on October 5, 1984; previously served as State Solicitor, Chief Deputy Public Defender, Disciplinary Counsel to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court and Attorney General of the State of Delaware. Retired from the Superior Court on August 31, 2005 to assume the role of International Judge in the State Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina; upon his return, returned to private practice.

Hon. William B. Chandler III—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on October 25, 1985; was appointed Resident Judge for Sussex County in June of 1986; began service as Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery on March 29, 1989; appointed Chancellor on June 30, 1997.

Hon. William Swain Lee—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on July 10, 1986; had previously served as an Associate Judge of the Family Court; appointed Resident Judge of Sussex County on May 10, 1989; retired on November 13, 1999, and returned to private practice.

Hon. Susan C. Del Pesco—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on May 20, 1988. She was the state's first female Superior Court judge. She was a member of the first graduating class of Delaware Law School (now Widener University School of Law) and its first graduate nominated to Superior Court. She also was the first woman president of the Delaware State Bar Association. Judge Del Pesco helped start Delaware's first drug treatment facility for incarcerated women and implemented CLAD the nation's first electronic case filing system. Judge Del Pesco retired May 30, 2008.

Hon. Myron T. Steele—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on May 31, 1988; appointed Resident Judge of Kent County on November 1, 1990; served until May 12, 1994 when appointed Vice Chancellor of the Court of Chancery; had previously served as Chief Deputy Attorney general for Kent County and as Attorney for the Delaware State Senate; began service as a Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court on July 28, 2000; elevated to Chief Justice on May 26, 2004.

Norman A. Barron—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on February 21, 1989; had previously served as State Prosecutor, State Solicitor and Chief Deputy Attorney General; in 1980 Judge Barron was nominated by Governor Pierre S. du Pont as Delaware's first Chief Magistrate of the Justice of the Peace Courts; retired from Superior Court on March 1, 2001.

Hon. Haile L. Alford—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on July 17, 1992; she was the first African-American female in the history of Delaware to hold this office. She died in office on August 11, 2003.

Hon. N. Maxson Terry Jr.—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service as Resident Judge of Kent County on July 26, 1994; had previously served as Kent County Levy Court Attorney. He died in office on August 15, 1998.

Hon. Carl Goldstein—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on November 29, 1990; had previously served as a Judge of the Municipal Court for the City of Wilmington from July 1, 1970 until his appointment as a Judge of the Superior Court. He formally retired at the end of his term, January 28, 2003. However, pursuant to a special part-time judicial appointment, he continued his work with the Superior Court Drug Court until May 17, 2013.

Hon. John E. Babiarz Jr.—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on October 24, Judge Babiarz retired on January 24, 2010 but continues to serve part-time by appointment of the Chief Justice.

Hon. Joseph R. Slights III—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on November 2, 2000; retired from Superior Court on December 8, 2013; returned to private practice.

Hon. Peggy L. Ableman>—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on October 30, 2000; had previously served as Judge in Family Court; retired from Superior Court on December 8, 2012.

Hon. Jerome O. Herlihy—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on February 21, 1989; had previously served as Chief Deputy Attorney General. Formally retired on May 18, 2013. However, pursuant to a special part-time judicial appointment, he continues his work with the Superior Court Drug Court.

Hon. T. Henley Graves—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on June 1, 1989; appointed Resident Judge of Sussex County by Governor Thomas R. Carper on January 19, 2000; previously served as an Assistant State's Attorney in Baltimore, Maryland and as Deputy Attorney General for the State of Delaware.

Hon. Charles H. Toliver IV—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on February 9, 1990.

Hon. Richard R. Cooch—Appointed by Governor Michael N. Castle and began service on August 31, 1992; appointed Resident Judge of New Castle County by Governor Thomas R. Carper on May 11, 2000; had previously served as Deputy Attorney General and as Attorney for the Delaware House of Representatives.

Hon. Fred S. Silverman—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on October 12, 1993; had previously served as State Solicitor and as Chief Deputy Attorney General.

Hon. William C. Carpenter Jr.—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on October 18, 1993; had previously served as United States Attorney for the District of Delaware.

Hon. James T. Vaughn Jr.—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service as Resident Judge of Kent County on October 28, 1998; elevated to President Judge of the Superior Court on October 12, 2004.

Hon. William L. Witham Jr.—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on February 18, 1999; appointed Resident Judge of Kent County by Governor Ruth Ann Minner on January 19, 2005; had previously served as Kent County Levy Court Attorney.

Hon. Richard F. Stokes—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on April 22, 1999; had previously served as Sussex County Resident Judge for Court of Common Pleas.

Hon. E. Scott Bradley—Appointed by Governor Thomas R. Carper and began service on April 7, 2000.

Hon. Jan R. Jurden—Appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on May 29, 2001.

Hon. Calvin L. Scott Jr.—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on February 19, 2003; had previously served as a Deputy Attorney General.

Hon. Mary Miller Johnston—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on September 25, 2003.

Hon. Robert B. Young—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on February 17, 2005.

Hon. M. Jane Brady—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on December 7, 2005; had previously served as the first female Attorney General of the State of Delaware.

Hon. John A. Parkins Jr.—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on August 21, 2008.

Hon. Diane Clarke Streett—Appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Jack A. Markell and began service February 15, 2010; had previously served as the New Castle County Register of Wills.

Hon. Charles E. Butler—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on August 21, 2008; had previously served as Chief Deputy Attorney General.

Hon. Eric M. Davis—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on August 21, 2008; had previously served as Judge on the Court of Common Pleas.

Hon. Paul R. Wallace—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on August 21, 2008; had previously served as Delaware’s Chief of Appeals and as the New Castle County Chief Prosecutor.

Hon. Vivian L. Rapposelli—Appointed to the Superior Court of Delaware by Governor Ruth Ann Minner and began service on August 21, 2008; had previously served as Cabinet Secretary for the Delaware Children’s Department.