---
title: "Clarence A. Southerland | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/clarence-a-southerland-delaware"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-08-22"
---

# Clarence A. Southerland

Supreme Court of Delaware · Chief Justice

## Profile

- Court: Supreme Court of Delaware
- State: Delaware
- Role: Chief Justice
- Service status: former
- Last verified: 2026-08-22

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### courthouse photography recording

Scope: statewide

Delaware Judicial Branch operating procedures generally restrict courthouse photography and audio or video recording, subject to limited exceptions.

Evidence excerpt: With limited exceptions, visitors will not be allowed to take photos or record audio or video in the courthouse.

[Operating Procedures for the Delaware Judicial Branch: Facilities](https://courts.delaware.gov/aoc/operating-procedures/op-facilities.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-30

### courtroom technology coordination

Scope: statewide

Delaware courts publish courtroom technology capabilities, but counsel should direct equipment and setup requests to the applicable court before the proceeding.

Evidence excerpt: If you wish to use any of the technology listed below, please make your request to the appropriate Court prior to trial.

[Courtroom Technology](https://courts.delaware.gov/aoc/courtroomtechnology.aspx)
Source checked: 2026-07-30


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://courts.delaware.gov/supreme/history/justicespast.aspx)
- [Official roster](https://courts.delaware.gov/supreme/history/justicespast.aspx)
- [Delaware Courts official judicial roster](https://courts.delaware.gov/supreme/history/justicespast.aspx)
- [Operating Procedures for the Delaware Judicial Branch: Facilities](https://courts.delaware.gov/aoc/operating-procedures/op-facilities.aspx)
- [Courtroom Technology](https://courts.delaware.gov/aoc/courtroomtechnology.aspx)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Clarence A. Southerland (1889–1973) was Attorney General of Delaware from 1925 to 1929 and the first Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1951 to 1963
- In 1951, Governor Elbert N. Carvel appointed Southerland as the first Chief Justice of the newly restructured Delaware Supreme Court
- Corporate law reforms and procedural improvements during his Chief Justice tenure

### Education

- Georgetown Law School — J.D. (1913)

### Additional information

- In 1935, he won the landmark case New Jersey v.
- Legal practice, Delaware — began in 1914
- Southerland was born April 10, 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland, and his family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, during his childhood.
- He served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I