WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Tuesday issued the following statement on the Delaware Senate’s unanimous bipartisan vote to confirm Molly Magarik to serve as the next Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, as well as judicial nominations confirmed by the Senate on Tuesday:

“I want to thank members of the Senate for their confirmation of Molly, and for confirming several distinguished Delawareans to serve on our world-class judiciary. Molly is a proven leader, a problem solver, and the right choice to serve as our next Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. As we continue to fight COVID-19, I’m confident Molly will be able to lead this department without missing a beat, while continuing our work to make Delaware a stronger and healthier state.”

The Senate confirmed the following judicial nominations on Tuesday:

Mark Conner, Superior Court, Sussex County:

Since July 2016, Mark Conner has served as the managing attorney for the Office of Conflicts Counsel for Sussex County within the Office of Defense Services. During his time in this position, he represented criminal defendants in the Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, the Family Court, and the Justice of the Peace Court. Conner has previous experience as a Deputy Attorney General at the Delaware Department of Justice in both the Criminal Division and Civil Division, as well as in the Public Defender’s Office. Between 2007-2016, Conner served as an adjunct professor at Delaware Technical and Community College and Wilmington University, teaching courses on business law and criminal law and procedure. 

A graduate of Wilmington Friends School, Conner earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Dickinson College, and his law degree from Widener University School of Law.

Conner will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Scott Bradley, on May 1, 2020, on the Superior Court in Sussex County.

Monica Horton, Court of Common Pleas, New Castle County:

Since 2016, Monica Horton has served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice, where she is the head of the Health Law Unit in the Civil Division and provides general counsel to the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. Horton’s public and private legal experience includes serving as an Assistant County Attorney for New Castle County, as an Associate Attorney for Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, and as a Judicial Law Clerk for the Family Court.

From 2000-2009 and again from 2014-2016, Horton, who is also a registered nurse, attended to obstetrical patients in the labor and delivery department of Christiana Care.

Horton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from the University of Delaware. Horton earned her law degree from Temple University’s Beasley School of Law.

Horton will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge John Welch, on June 30, 2020, on the Court of Common Pleas in New Castle County.

Rae Mims, Court of Common Pleas, Sussex:

As a Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice since 2007, Rae Mims has experience on a wide range of matters, and has represented the Delaware Department of Correction, the State Board of Education, the Delaware State Police, and the Division of Public Health. During her time as a Deputy Attorney General, Mims also oversaw criminal adult felony prosecutions in the Superior Court, and prosecuted misdemeanor cases in the Family Court, the Justice of the Peace Court, and the Court of Common Pleas. Additionally, Mims has experience in private practice as an Associate with Binder & Binder in Philadelphia, and was an Assistant District Attorney in Bucks County, PA. Previously, Mims served as an assistant to the City Manager of Longmont, CO, and was an acting regional manager for the Peace Corps in Boston.

Mims earned her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from the University of Maryland, a Master of Public Administration in not-for-profit management from Suffolk University, and her law degree from Widener University School of Law.

Mims will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Rosemary Betts Beauregard, on April 1, 2020, on the Court of Common Pleas in Sussex County.

Francis E. Mieczkowski, III, Family Court Commissioner, New Castle County:

As a Deputy Attorney General, Francis Mieczkowski serves as Assistant Unit Head in the Juvenile Delinquency and Truancy Unit in the Family Division at the Delaware Department of Justice. While Mieczkowski’s practice has focused on prosecuting serious felonies and misdemeanors in Family Court, he works with partners to divert children from the criminal justice system who are at low risk to reoffend. Mieczkowski also has experience in the Domestic Violence Unit and Child Support Unit of the Delaware Department of Justice. Previously, Mieczkowski was a legal extern to the Hon. Calvin L. Scott Jr. in the Superior Court, and gained experience as a law clerk with the Delaware Department of Justice and with Elzufon Austin Reardon Tarlov & Mondell.

Throughout his career, Mieczkowski worked with youth. He was a coach, program director, teacher, and assistant principal at Salesianum School. Beginning in 2013, he taught as adjunct faculty at Wilmington University and currently teaches  criminal procedure and criminal law in the Paralegal Certificate Program at the University of Delaware.

Mieczkowski, a graduate of Salesianum School, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in history and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Delaware. While at the University of Delaware, Mieczkowski participated in the Legislative Fellows Program.  Mieczkowski earned his law degree from Widener University School of Law.

Mieczkowski will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Susan Tussey, on June 1, 2020, on the Family Court in New Castle County.

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