Potter Anderson Tapped by Delaware Supreme Court in Pro Bono Case

Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP was asked by the Delaware Supreme Court to assist the Court in responding to a request by Governor Minner for an expedited opinion with regard to the scope and application of a provision of the Delaware Constitution. The question related in particular to the eligibility of the governor’s nominee, Bernard Pepukayi, to serve as a Family Court commissioner. 

The question of eligibility turned on the fact that the nominee had been arrested as a teenager and subsequently convicted as an adult in a drug-related felony. He was later pardoned, admitted to the Delaware Bar, served as a deputy attorney general and served as deputy counsel to Governor Minner. The state constitution provides that anyone convicted of bribery, perjury, embezzlements of public money or other “infamous crime” is barred from holding office. The Governor’s request for the opinion of the Supreme Court raised the questions whether the conviction in question constituted an “infamous crime’ and whether the constitutional prohibition was intended to apply to judicial positions.

The Court appointed Potter Anderson to argue the position that the nominee was precluded from holding office by reason of the constitutional provision.  The law firm of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor was designated to argue that the candidate was qualified notwithstanding the prohibition. 

The Potter Anderson team, which included partner Donald J. Wolfe, Jr. and associates Timothy R. Dudderar, Meghan M. Dougherty and Jaime L. White, received the request on mid-afternoon Friday, June 20 and, because the Senate session was due to conclude imminently, was instructed to submit a brief 11 a.m. on Monday, June 23.  Wolfe noted, “We regarded the appointment by the Supreme Court as an honor, one that no member of our Bar would have turned down, notwithstanding conflicting personal plans or schedules.”  The Young Conaway team was lead by Richard Morse. 

The Supreme Court, also acting on an extremely accelerated basis, issued a lengthy opinion the following day holding that the constitutional provision did not apply to crimes committed by juveniles. Pepukayi’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate on June 25, 2008.