Delaware Court of Chancery - History

History

The history of the Court of Chancery stems back to the English common law system, in which separate courts were established to hear law and equity matters. English law courts included the Court of King's Bench (or Queen's Bench when the monarch was female), the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of the Exchequer. The sole English court of equity was the High Court of Chancery.

Along with the remainder of the original Thirteen Colonies, Delaware imported the English concept of common law. This included establishing a separate Court of Chancery. As the legal system evolved in England, the English High Court of Chancery was eventually abolished and its powers merged into the law courts. Most American jurisdictions followed suit.

In its first Constitution, the Delaware Constitution of 1776, there was no special provision for a court of equity. However, when the constitution was revised in the Delaware Constitution of 1792 a separate Court of Chancery was established. This constitution was heavily influenced by thinking of John Dickinson and George Read. William T. Quillen and Michael Hanrahan in their Short History of the Delaware Court of Chancery repeat the “folklore of the Delaware bench and bar, saying that the impetus for creating a Court of Chancery was to provide a new judicial seat for Delaware's first Chancellor, William Killen.” Killen was the elderly and highly respected incumbent Chief Justice of Delaware, and when George Read was considered to be the new Chief Justice of Delaware, he refused unless adequate provisions were made for Killen. A separate Court of Chancery under Killen was the solution.