Delaware's first Catholic judge laid foundation for Brown decision

Published: 2004-05-20

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- When the U.S. Supreme Court declared 50 years ago that racial segregation in public schools violated the U.S. Constitution, it was affirming an earlier ruling that the "separate but equal" system of education that prevailed in Delaware and throughout the South was inherently unequal. That decision, issued in 1952 in cases involving schools in Claymont and Hockessin, was the work of Chancellor Collins J. Seitz, Delaware's first Catholic judge. Seitz, who died in October 1998, served on Delaware's Court of Chancery for 20 years, five as vice chancellor and 15 as chancellor, or chief judge. In 1966 he was appointed to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, where he served for 32 years. While judges and lawyers alike have lauded Seitz's remarkable career and his lucid opinions in corporate law cases, his most lasting legacy was his work on the cases that resulted in the admission of black students to the University of Delaware in 1950 and to the public schools in Claymont and Hockessin two years later. The state appealed the 1952 ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was considered as part of the Brown decision.

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