From DelawareOnline.com: Attorneys for the Delaware Court of Chancery have let one appeal deadline pass without acting in the lawsuit over the court’s “secret” arbitration program that two federal courts have declared unconstitutional.
Attorney Lawrence Hamermesh, who is representing the Chancery Court, declined to comment today on whether the state plans to appeal the case directly to the U.S. Supreme Court or will abandon both an appeal and the confidential arbitration system.
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From NFOIC: A federal appeals court has agreed with NFOIC’s Delaware-based member organization, the Delaware Coalition for Open Government, that Delaware’s Chancery Court judges’ practice of overseeing and resolving business disputes in secret arbitrations is unconstitutional.
Following the ruling, handed down last Wednesday by the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, state and court officials, including a spokesman for Gov. Gov. Jack Markell’s office, indicated they are considering an appeal.
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From Bloomberg: Delaware’s Chancery Court, the country’s leading venue for securities litigation, can’t be used for secret arbitration proceedings in business disputes, a federal appeals court ruled.
The arbitration program set up by the state, which allowed publicly funded judges to make decisions behind closed doors on business cases, violates the public’s constitutional right to access to the courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Wednesday in a 2-1 decision.
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Read More… from Delaware judges can’t do secret arbitrations, court rules
Delawareonline.com: A group tasked with finding improvements to the state’s charter school system may have violated open meetings laws, according to a report from the Attorney General’s Office.
That has drawn the ire of open government advocates and legislators who say a handful of power-players are crafting major education policy behind closed doors.
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From The News Journal:
WILMINGTON – The Delaware Court of Chancery is asking the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate its controversial private arbitration process that critics have called a “secret court.”
Attorneys representing Chancery Court filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. District Court in Wilmington today. The one paragraph notice did not outline the reasons for the appeal.
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Read More… from Delaware Chancery Court appeals ban on private arbitration
From StateIntegrity.org
Delaware is the latest state to take action on improving its Corruption Risk Report Card grade. With a C- overall grade, Delaware ranked 22nd out of 50 states in the State Integrity Investigation. The overall score was hurt badly by the lack of effective laws and practices governing lobbying activity: Delaware's 43 percent 'F' grade on the lobbying disclosure category was fourth-worst in the nation.
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Read More… from Delaware Gov. Markell supports increase transparency requirements for lobbyists
