1. Delaware Courts
  2. Family Court

Judicial Officers and Staff


The Family Court has a staff of more than 300 employees including the judiciary. These employees comprise the following primary groups.


Judges

Number: The Court is allowed 18 Judges of equal judicial authority, one of whom is appointed by the Governor as Chief Judge and who is the chief administrative and executive officer for the Court. A bare majority of the Judges must be of one major political party with the remainder of the other major political party.

Appointment: The Governor nominates the Judges, who must be confirmed by the Senate.

Tenure: The Judges are appointed for 12-year terms, subject to reappointment.

Qualifications: Judges must have been duly admitted to the practice of law before the Supreme Court of Delaware at least 5 years prior to appointment and must have a knowledge of the law and interest in and understanding of family and child problems. They shall not practice law during their tenure and may be reappointed.


Commissioners

Commissioners hear a broad range of cases including child support, misdemeanor crimes and delinquency, civil protection orders, bail hearings and other cases as assigned. Commissioners are attorneys at law who are nominated by the Governor, confirmed by the Senate and serve an initial 4-year term. Upon second and subsequent appointments and confirmations, commissioners serve six-year terms. Orders from commissioners are subject to review by Family Court Judges.


Support Personnel

The three major administrative divisions of the Court are Court Operations, Fiscal Services and Human Resources. Fiscal Services and Personnel Services perform staff functions, whereas Court Operations is responsible for the delivery of services to the public.