President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. nominated Delaware Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals Third Circuit in Philadelphia.
Delaware U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons released the following statement praising the nomination:
“Justice Montgomery-Reeves is a trailblazer and an outstanding legal mind, and she will be an excellent judge on the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Justice Montgomery-Reeves has served on two of Delaware’s highly-regarded courts — the Delaware Court of Chancery and the Delaware Supreme Court — making her well-qualified for this appointment. She has the heart of a public servant and has earned a reputation as a consensus builder on the bench. We applaud President Biden’s following through on his commitment to nominate a diverse group of Judges to serve on our federal courts, including Justice Montgomery-Reeves, and we look forward to a swift hearing and confirmation process.”
Tamika Montgomery-Reeves is the first African-American woman to serve on the Delaware Supreme Court, where she has served as an Associate Justice since January of 2020. Previously Montgomery-Reeves served as Vice Chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery from November 2015 to November 2019. Before her public service, she was a partner at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in Wilmington.
Justice Montgomery-Reeves graduated from the McDonnell-Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi in 2003. She received her law degree in 2006 from the University of Georgia School of Law. Justice Montgomery-Reeves served as a law clerk for Chancellor William B. Chandler of the Delaware Court of Chancery.
If Montgomery-Reeves is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Gov. John Carney would have to nominate a successor. Citizens for Judicial Fairness, formerly Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, has demanded the appointment of a Black member of the Chancery Court following Montgomery-Reeves’ elevation to the Supreme Court. Citizens was formed during the disputed sale of New York translation services company TransPerfect.
Said civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton, who has been speaking for Citizen for Judicial Fairness, made the following statement “Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves will be an excellent addition to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. I continue to be impressed with President Biden’s steadfast commitment to diversifying our nation’s highest courts and ensuring that they look like the people they represent. But Montgomery-Reeves’ departure from the Supreme Court means that unless she is replaced with a Black justice, Delaware’s two top courts – the Supreme Court and Chancery Court – will both be all-white. That’s unacceptable any time, but even more so in 2022 when Delaware’s own son Joe Biden has put diversity front and center in his judicial nominations.”
Sharpton concluded, “Governor Carney has a chance once again to take a step in the right direction and ensure that there is at least one Black justice on Delaware’s top courts – I urge him to do so and avoid subjecting Delawareans to courts that don’t look like them and can’t possibly deliver them the justice they deserve.”
