Delaware News

Governor Carney Announces Judicial Nominations

Governor John Carney | News | Office of the Governor | Date Posted: Monday, February 19, 2024



WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Monday announced that he will nominate Eliza Hirst to serve as Family Court Judge in New Castle County, and Jessica Markowski-Kelly to serve as Family Court Commissioner in New Castle County. The Governor’s nominations will be submitted to the Delaware State Senate for consideration.

 

“I want to thank these two qualified nominees for their willingness to serve the children and families of the State of Delaware through our Family Court system,” said Governor Carney. “I’m confident that each has the experience and judgment necessary to serve as part of Delaware’s world-class judiciary. I look forward to the Senate considering these nominations.”

 

Hirst will be nominated to serve as Family Court Judge in New Castle County.

 

Hirst is an Assistant Public Defender and Post Disposition Unit Head at the Delaware Office of Defense Services. She provides legal representation to clients on expungements, modifications, pardons, and other post disposition relief. Hirst also is an Adjunct Professor at Widener University’s Delaware Law School. She is a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist from the National Association of Counsel for Children and a certified “Child First” Forensic Child Interviewer. She previously worked as a Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer at Children & Families First, as a Deputy Child Advocate at the Office of the Child Advocate, and as a Staff Attorney for the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

 

Markowski-Kelly will be nominated for Family Court Commissioner in New Castle County.

 

Markowski-Kelly is a Deputy Attorney General at the Delaware Department of Justice in the Child Protection Unit, where she represents the Division of Family Services in cases involving dependency and neglect, termination of parental rights, and substantiation matters regarding the Child Protection Registry. She is a member of the Child Protection Accountability Commission’s Drug Ingestion Workgroup. She previously worked as an Assistant Public Defender at the Office of Defense Services, an Associate Attorney at Gonser and Gonser, P.A., as a Law Clerk to The Honorable Janell S. Ostroski in the Family Court of Delaware, as a Fellow in the Domestic Violence Research and Advocacy Fellowship, as a Certified Legal Intern at the Delaware Civil Clinic, and as an Intern working with domestic violence offenders at Delaware Probation and Parole. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Widener University’s Delaware Law School.

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Governor Carney Announces Judicial Nominations

Governor John Carney | News | Office of the Governor | Date Posted: Monday, February 19, 2024



WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Monday announced that he will nominate Eliza Hirst to serve as Family Court Judge in New Castle County, and Jessica Markowski-Kelly to serve as Family Court Commissioner in New Castle County. The Governor’s nominations will be submitted to the Delaware State Senate for consideration.

 

“I want to thank these two qualified nominees for their willingness to serve the children and families of the State of Delaware through our Family Court system,” said Governor Carney. “I’m confident that each has the experience and judgment necessary to serve as part of Delaware’s world-class judiciary. I look forward to the Senate considering these nominations.”

 

Hirst will be nominated to serve as Family Court Judge in New Castle County.

 

Hirst is an Assistant Public Defender and Post Disposition Unit Head at the Delaware Office of Defense Services. She provides legal representation to clients on expungements, modifications, pardons, and other post disposition relief. Hirst also is an Adjunct Professor at Widener University’s Delaware Law School. She is a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist from the National Association of Counsel for Children and a certified “Child First” Forensic Child Interviewer. She previously worked as a Chief Strategy and Compliance Officer at Children & Families First, as a Deputy Child Advocate at the Office of the Child Advocate, and as a Staff Attorney for the Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

 

Markowski-Kelly will be nominated for Family Court Commissioner in New Castle County.

 

Markowski-Kelly is a Deputy Attorney General at the Delaware Department of Justice in the Child Protection Unit, where she represents the Division of Family Services in cases involving dependency and neglect, termination of parental rights, and substantiation matters regarding the Child Protection Registry. She is a member of the Child Protection Accountability Commission’s Drug Ingestion Workgroup. She previously worked as an Assistant Public Defender at the Office of Defense Services, an Associate Attorney at Gonser and Gonser, P.A., as a Law Clerk to The Honorable Janell S. Ostroski in the Family Court of Delaware, as a Fellow in the Domestic Violence Research and Advocacy Fellowship, as a Certified Legal Intern at the Delaware Civil Clinic, and as an Intern working with domestic violence offenders at Delaware Probation and Parole. She received her Juris Doctorate degree from Widener University’s Delaware Law School.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.