Delaware State Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr.

Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. has asked the state's lawmakers to create seats for two new vice chancellors on the Delaware Court of Chancery as part of his fiscal year 2019 budget request.

On Wednesday, Strine told members of Delaware's Office of Management and Budget in Dover that a growing docket of complex corporate cases supported the proposed expansion of the court's current five-member bench to seven.

The Court of Chancery, which hears disputes from more than 1 million corporations and alternative entities formed under Delaware law, has long been seen as an economic driver for the state, but Strine said the court risked falling behind unless lawmakers freed up funding for two new judgeships and eight additional staffers.

According to Strine, who served on the Chancery Court from 1998 to 2014, new filings in the court of equity have increased 64 percent in the past decade, and judges are being asked to review thicker filings and address more time-sensitive motions to expedite cases.

“My friends on Chancery are busting their humps and doing a great job. But too much is being asked of them,” Strine said, according to prepared text provided by the courts. “Giving them two more judges will provide relief, and most importantly, will give them the extra time to think and write—time is essential to doing work at the high level demanded of them.”

The proposal, which would have to be enacted through legislation, would cost almost $1.2 million per year, with nearly $700,000 coming from the state's General Fund and the rest coming from fines and fees used to pay for operating costs, a representative from the Delaware Administrative Office of the Courts said.

However, Strine's request comes as the chief justice is renewing his unanswered calls from past years for increased appropriations to fund employee pay fairness initiatives and upgrades to the courts' facilities and technology.

The top priority, he said, was securing a $1,700 annual supplement for the nearly 50 percent of judicial branch employees who have to pay to park in Wilmington. For the majority of those workers earning an annual salary of less than $32,000, the cost of parking amounts to five percent of their total income, Strine said.

He also asked for lawmakers to convert 12 security positions from casual or seasonal designations to full-time status and the creation of a stable technology fund for the courts.

All of those proposals were included in the judiciary's past two budget requests, but none have been funded through the state's annual appropriations process. On Wednesday, Strine again painted the issues as a matter of fundamental fairness and credibility for the state.

“We encourage private sector employers to be responsible and give their full-time workers access to affordable, high quality health care. The state should set an example and live up to its own stated policy, by doing so itself,” he said in the prepared remarks.

Strine is also asking for an additional $13.7 million in capital funds to cover design fees and to hire a construction manager for two new Family Court facilities in Georgetown and Dover, which have long been decried for the operational and security concerns they pose.

Strine is expected to make another formal funding request to the General Assembly's Joint Finance Committee, after lawmakers return to session this January.