Delaware Governor John C. Carney.

Delaware Gov. John Carney is preparing to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a federal appeals court ruling earlier this year that struck down provisions of the Delaware Constitution mandating political party balance on key state courts, according to papers filed with the high court.

Attorneys for the governor asked Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Thursday for a 60-day extension to petition for cert in the case and said he had hired new lawyers to argue the appeal.

According to the filing, former Delaware Supreme Court Justice Randy J. Holland and Michael W. McConnell, who both serve as senior of counsel in Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's Wilmington office, will serve as Carney's new lead counsel. Neither had been involved in the underlying litigation and would need time to get up to speed on the case, the filing said.

“We respectfully request the additional time to familiarize ourselves with the relevant materials, including the record and arguments presented in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and to prepare an appropriate petition for consideration by this court,” they said in a letter signed by McConnell.

Carney's office on Friday confirmed that the governor intended to appeal the ruling, saying that party-balance provisions have served the state well for decades.

“Delaware's courts that are widely recognized for their excellence and garner tremendous respect from our citizens and members of our bar,” Carney spokesman Jonathan Starkey said in a statement. “Many in our state have recognized the vital importance of our courts and agree that a decision to eliminate the constitutional hallmarks of our system should be reviewed by the Supreme Court.”

“We look forward to having the court consider our appeal,” he said.

McConnell and Holland would join an existing team of attorneys from Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, which is staying on after representing Carney in the lower court proceedings. Holland, who retired from the state Supreme Court in 2017, has written extensively on the Delaware constitution, and his scholarly work has been cited throughout the case.

The Third Circuit's Feb. 5 ruling upheld a lower court's decision that the party-balance provisions unconstitutionally barred registered independents and third party members from serving as judges.

The precedential ruling, the first of its kind from the Third Circuit, held that judges do not qualify as policymakers to fit a narrow exception to the First Amendment that allows party affiliation to be taken into account when considering applicants for certain governmental positions.

The ruling applied to Delaware's Supreme and Chancery courts, which both play an outsize role in developing American corporate law, as well as the Superior Court, whose memberships are required by law to be composed entirely of judges from the state's two dominant political parties. It did not apply to the Family Court or Court of Common Pleas.

Carney has said in court filings that the decision put the Third Circuit at odds with other appeals courts and could have “profound implications” well beyond Delaware.

In his letter, McConnell said the decision “undermines one of the most fundamental principles of American federalism: the authority of the people of the several states to structure their own state governments, including especially their judiciaries.”

It would also limit the legitimate use of party affiliation for positions where it should be properly considered, such as electing judges, he said.

“Undersigned counsel respectfully submit that the extension of time requested here is warranted in light of the importance of these issues,” the letter said.

David L. Finger, who represents plaintiff James R. Adams in the case, noted that the governor had not yet filed for cert, but said “an application to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari is not favored” under Supreme Court rules.

Adams, a retired New Castle County lawyer, filed his lawsuit challenging the party-balance provisions in February 2017. A longtime Democrat, Adams had switched his official party affiliation from Democrat to independent earlier that year and claimed he was prevented from applying for open judgeships because he did not belong to either major political party.