Year Honored: 2011
Biography
Susan Del Pesco was the first woman elected as President of the Delaware Bar Association, and the first woman appointed to the Delaware Superior Court by Governor Michael Castle in 1988. As a member of the Superior Court she advocated for better services for female inmates “including separate level IV facility and options to keep incarcerated moms with their newborns.” She also advocated for the creation of a chapel at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institute, opening a Women’s Work Release and Treatment Center, the creation of Delaware’s first drug treatment facility for incarcerated women, and led two book drives for inmates. Del Pesco also led an effort to identify and raise awareness of issues of gender bias in the courts before her retirement in 2008.
Outside of the courtroom, Del Pesco lobbied for the passing of the 2018 Equal Rights Amendment to the Delaware Constitution. In 2020, she received the Delaware ACLU’s Kandler Award, given annually to Delawareans who “represent the highest commitment to ensuring the civil rights and liberties of all Delawareans.”
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Sources and Additional Readings
2020 Kandler honoree: Susan Del Pesco. ACLU Delaware. (2020, August 19). Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.aclu-de.org/en/biographies/2020-kandler-honoree-susan-del-pesco
About Us. History: Our Judicial Officers - About Us - Superior Court - Delaware Courts - State of Delaware. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://courts.delaware.gov/superior/aboutus/history3.aspx
ACLUDelaware. (2020, October 14). 2020 Kandler Award Honoree: Susan Del Pesco. YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9QEHBJK6pQ
- Collections: 2011, Delaware Women Firsts