On March 24, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Strine v. Delaware Coalition for Open Government, involving a challenge over the constitutionality of the novel, short-lived program in Delaware that allowed the state’s Court of Chancery judges to serve as arbitrators.
The experimental, if controversial, program, implemented in early 2010, barely had time to be tested before it was discontinued in August 2012 when a U.S. district court held that the program blocks the public’s constitutional right of access to trials. The program, established by Delaware statute in 2009, enabled the sitting Chancery judges to hold confidential arbitrations in expedited fashion with hearings and judgment rendered behind closed doors.
