Justice Randy J. Holland, the longest-serving judge ever to sit on Delaware’s highest court, has announced that he will retire in March.
“Justice Holland has been a model jurist and a steady source of wisdom on Delaware’s Supreme Court for more than 30 years,” said Gov. John Carney in a statement. “His thoughtfulness and deep knowledge of Delaware history and the Delaware Constitution will be missed. We should all thank Justice Holland for his service to the people of Delaware and to our great judiciary.”
Holland became the youngest person to serve on the Delaware Supreme Court when he was nominated by Governor Michael Castle in 1986 and confirmed by the Delaware Senate. He was re-appointed twice to additional 12-year terms, by Gov. Thomas R. Carper and in 2011 by Gov. Jack Markell. In 2009, he became the longest serving Justice in Delaware history.
Throughout his thirty year tenure on the bench, Justice Holland has written more than 700 reported opinions and several thousand case dispositive orders. Justice Holland is recognized as an expert on state constitutional law and has published two books on the Delaware Constitution: He is co-editor of the Delaware Constitution of 1897, The First One Hundred Years and author of The Delaware Constitution: A Reference Guide. Justice Holland has taught state constitutional law as an adjunct professor for many years.
In 2009, he co-authored a law school casebook on that subject from the perspective of all fifty states entitled State Constitutional Law, The Modern Experience. With Justice Holland’s encouragement, the Conference of Chief Justices passed a unanimous resolution recommending that all law schools offer courses on state constitutions.
