Gov. John Carney will be allowed to appoint new state court judges while he appeals a ruling that scrapped Delaware’s party-balance requirement as unconstitutional, a federal magistrate judge said on Monday, despite criticizing the governor’s “new and ever-evolving” legal arguments in the case.
In a 12-page memorandum order, U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge granted Carney’s request to stay her Dec. 6 decision, which found on summary judgment that a 121-year-old provision of the Delaware Constitution violated the First Amendment by restricting government employment based on political affiliation.
