The Sussex County Courthouse is closed today March 28, 2024, due to a water leak.

The Delaware State Courts will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2024 in observance of Good Friday. Justice of the Peace Court 11 (New Castle County) and Court 7 (Kent County) will remain open 24 hours and Justice of the Peace Court 3 (Sussex County) will be open from 6AM-Midnight (no new cases after 11PM).

Delaware Courts - Starting the conversation


Chief Justice Strine participates in the Delaware Historical Society’s “The Conversation about ‘The Conversation’ about Race.”

Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine, Jr. participated in the Delaware Historical Society’s Contemporary History Series panel presentation on “the Conversation about ‘The Conversation’ about Race” on March 24, 2016. The panel discussion, held in the Historical Society’s museum on Market Street in downtown Wilmington, explored how the community can have a direct and respectful discussion about the intersection of race and public policy. The conversation was structured in four parts: 1) What should we be talking about? 2) What is stopping us? 3) What must we do to make progress? and 4) Where do we go from here?

The 90-minute program was moderated by former News Journal Editorial Page editor John Sweeney and, joining the Chief Justice on the panel, were New Castle County Police Chief Elmer Setting, Wilmington HOPE Commission Executive Director Charles Madden and activist and author Beatrice Coker. A highlight video of that discussion is posted below.



In his remarks, Chief Justice Strine stated that people of good faith, talking candidly and directly about race is "a critical factor that will determine whether our society can make progress in increasing racial harmony and decreasing racial inequality." This event is one of the efforts by members of the Judiciary to find ways to engage with, and listen to, the public across the country about criminal justice and other public policy issues, consistent with the work of the Community Engagement in the State Courts Initiative, which is being led by the National Center for State Courts and the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ). Chief Justice Strine is a member of the CCJ.

The full video of the March 24, 2016 panel presentation will be posted on the Historical Society’s website as part of the events celebrating the opening of the Delaware History Museum and the Center for African American Heritage at 504 Market Street on October 1, 2016.


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