Delaware Family Court marks 50th anniversary

Members of the Delaware judiciary and state government leaders gathered Sept. 7 on Legislative Mall in Dover to mark the 50th anniversary of the Family Court of the State of Delaware.

While the origins of Family Court date back to 1911 with the Juvenile Court for Wilmington, the modern-day statewide Family Court began in 1971 with the unification of what had then been separate, smaller family court systems into a single statewide court.

Sept. 7, 1971 is regarded as the birthday of Family Court since it was the date that legislation creating the statewide court took effect, after being signed three months earlier by Gov. Russell W. Peterson.

The anniversary event was held outside under a tent due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Family Court Chief Judge Michael K. Newell acted as master of ceremonies, welcoming the crowd and dignitaries. He praised the actions of state leaders 50 years ago who had the foresight to create one, unified statewide Family Court to address some of the most personal and intimate problems facing citizens of Delaware.

“In my conversations and work with other juvenile and family court judges from around our country, I always come away with the unquestioned feeling that we did it right,” Newell said.

Gov. John Carney presented a proclamation to mark the occasion and offered a simple message of thanks to all the Family Court judicial officers and court staff for all the hard work they do every day.

 Chief Justice Collins. J. Seitz Jr. then added his own thanks to Family Court officials, saying, “For 50 years, the Family Court has answered the call to resolve the most personal of disputes that do not fall neatly within the legal profession’s one side wins/one side loses paradigm. I often think about the heavy weight of these cases on the shoulders of our family court judicial officers, and the psychological toll these cases take on a judicial officer’s professional and personal life.” He looked to the past of the court, but also to the future, thanking Carney and state legislators for supporting funding to build new Family Court facilities in Kent and Sussex counties to meet the challenges of the next 50 years.

Earlier this year, the General Assembly appropriated $131 million for the construction of new Family Court facilities in Kent and Sussex counties, with groundbreaking on the new Family Court courthouse in Sussex County expected later this year.

Other speakers included former Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland; retired Family Court Judge Jay H. Conner; Delaware Senate President Pro Tem David P. Sokola, D-Newark, who presented a proclamation from the Senate; and Rep. Krista M.Z. Griffith, D-Fairfax, a former Family Court prosecutor who presented a proclamation from the Delaware House.

The program concluded with remarks from Steven Marz, Delaware Public Archives director and state archivist, who accepted a number of Family Court documents and artifacts for the state collection.