CHAPTER 382
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 289
AN ACT TO NAME THE SUSSEX COUNTY FAMILY COURT BUILDING IN HONOR OF THE LATE FORMER CHIEF JUDGE OF THE FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE, ROBERT D. THOMPSON, JR.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Three-fifths of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
WHEREAS, the Honorable Robert D. Thompson, Jr., was appointed Judge of Sussex Family Court on February 6, 1962; and
WHEREAS, Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt appointed Judge Thompson Chief Judge of the statewide Family Court on October 25, 1974; and
WHEREAS, Chief Judge Thompson held that post until his retirement on January 31, 1992; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure, he oversaw construction of new courthouses for the Family Court of the State of Delaware in each of the three counties; and
WHEREAS, under his leadership, the Family Court became one of the first court systems in the country to become a unified Family Court, and developed programs for arbitration and mediation, and what is now known as the Court-appointed Special Advocate Program; and
WHEREAS, the Family Court of the State of Delaware became a model court for other court systems throughout the country; and
WHEREAS, in 1986, Chief Judge Thompson was presented the Franklin N. Flaschner Award, which is the highest honor granted annually by the American Bar Association, National Conference of Special Court Judges, to the most outstanding Judge in the court of special jurisdiction for contributions to the administration of justice at a local, state, or national level; and
WHEREAS, because of his commitment to the citizens of the State of Delaware, and in particular, the people who came before the Family Court of the State of Delaware, and his love for the Family Court; and
WHEREAS, Chief Judge Thompson was born on July 27, 1924 in Lewes, Delaware as the only son of Robert and Minnie Thompson and attended Lewes High School, and passed away on the 5th day of April, 2008 at the age of 83 years;
NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. The Sussex County Family Court Building is hereby named the “Robert D. Thompson, Jr. Family Court Building”.
Section 2. All references to the “Sussex County Family Court Building”, where they appear in the Delaware Code, shall be changed to the “Robert D. Thompson, Jr. Family Court Building.”