That's the title of an Associated Press report, via Delmarva Public Radio.
The judge tapped by Gov. Jack Markell to become Delaware's new chief justice says he is personally opposed to the death penalty.
But Chancellor Leo Strine Jr. said Monday that judges and other public officials must follow the law in performing their duties and not impose their personal political preferences.
In a speech to law school students, Strine recounted his experience with the death penalty in three separate roles: as the governor's chief counsel, a member of Delaware's pardons board, and a judge sitting by special designation on the state Supreme Court.
Strine noted that as a member of Board of Pardons, he voted to recommend commutation of a killer's death sentence, but that he agreed with Supreme Court justices in 2012 to uphold a police officer killer's death sentence.
WDEL-AM posts, "Strine is against death penalty, but judges must put law first," by Tom Lehman. There is audio at the link.
Chancellor Leo Strine Jr. said during a speech at Widener School of Law, that while he opposes capital punishment, judges and other public officials must place the law above their own personal and political beliefs.
"When public officials recognize their duty to fulfill their specific role and put that duty ahead self interest, they promote the public's confidence and respect in their government and thus in its legitimacy," said Strine.Strine, the head judge of the Court of Chancery, was nominated to be the chief justice of Delaware's highest court last week. He awaits confirmation by the state Senate and would replace Myron Steel, who retired last year after 25 years on the job.
"Challenges face Leo Strine as next chief justice," is the title of a Wilmington News Journal Column written by Harry F. Themal.
The new chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court will have responsibilities far beyond the corporate dispute appeals that reach that court. While his expected post governs the entire state court and legal system, and is the final arbiter in both civil and criminal matters, it also will have to contend with frequent criticism of its powers.
Leo E. Strine Jr. knows that the entire country, and indeed the world, keeps a close eye on what the court rules in the corporate cases that have come from his old bailiwick, the Court of Chancery.
His appointment’s importance to the business community is illustrated by the Wall Street Journal devoting a story and photograph to Gov. Markell’s decision to appoint him.
Earlier coverage from Delaware begins at the link. The Delaware Senate voted to repeal the state's death penalty last year. The measure died in the House Judiciary Committee.
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