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U.S. Supreme Court

Case Status

Decided

Docket Number

Term

Cert. Denied

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Questions Presented

Whether this “experience and logic” test requires invalidation on First Amendment grounds of a Delaware statute authorizing state judges to act as arbitrators in business disputes—when the parties voluntarily select arbitration—because the arbitration proceedings are not open to the public.

Case Updates

Cert. petition denied

March 24, 2014

U.S. Chamber asks Supreme Court to review Delaware decision requiring public arbitration proceedings

February 24, 2014

In its amicus brief, the U.S. Chamber asked the Supreme Court to review a Delaware Court of Appeals’ decision which held that that the First Amendment requires arbitrations by state judges be open to the public. The brief argued that because confidentiality is a time-honored and common-sense prerequisite for successful arbitration, the Court of Appeals’ decisions will be detrimental to Delaware’s arbitration system. Arbitration has become an increasingly important tool in resolving commercial disputes across the country and this decision effectively destroys the potential of arbitration programs conducted by state judges, since businesses, like anyone else, will rarely agree to arbitrate without the assurance of confidentiality.

This brief was filed jointly with the Business Round Table.

Gregory G. Garre and Paul T. Crane of Latham & Watkins LLP represented the U.S. Chamber as co-counsel to the National Chamber Litigation Center in this case.

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