Gov. John Carney on Monday nominated Gary F. Traynor, a Sussex County public defender and a former litigator with Prickett, Jones & Elliott, to become the next justice on the Delaware Supreme Court.

Traynor, a registered Republican from Rehoboth Beach, spent much of his early career as a general trial attorney in Prickett Jones' Wilmington and Dover offices, where he primarily handled criminal defense and personal injury cases. In 2000, he switched to corporate litigation in Prickett Jones' Wilmington office and served as the firm's managing director from 2005 to 2007.

Since 2015, Traynor has worked as an assistant public defender in the Superior Court for Sussex County, representing poor defendants accused of felony-level crimes. He holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Widener University Delaware Law School.