The Delaware State Courts will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th for Election Day. Justice of the Peace Court 11 (New Castle County) and Court 7 (Kent County) will remain open 24 hours and Justice of the Peace Court 3 (Sussex County) will be open from 6AM – 12PM (no new cases after 11:00PM).

Sussex County Courts including Justice of the Peace Court 2, 4, and 17 will be closing at noon on Thursday, November 7th for Return Day. JP Court 14 will be closed the entire day due to proximity to Return Day events.

About Us


The Honorable Kathleen M. Vavala, Judge

The Honorable Kathleen M. Vavala was appointed by Governor John C. Carney and sworn in as a Judge of the Superior Court in May 2024.

Judge Vavala is a Delaware native and a graduate of Ursuline Academy. She received B.A. degrees in English and in Government from Franklin & Marshall College and her juris doctorate from the Delaware Law School where she was a member of the law review. After completing her studies, Judge Vavala served as a judicial law clerk for Resident Judge Vincent A. Bifferato Sr. of the Delaware Superior Court before joining the private practice of Tybout, Redfearn & Pell. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Vavala was Disciplinary Counsel for the Delaware Supreme Court for eleven years, handling lawyer fitness and discipline cases in state and federal trial and appellate courts, and a Deputy Attorney General for the Delaware Department of Justice for ten years, serving in the in the Criminal, Family, and Fraud Divisions as both trial counsel and in various leadership positions.

Judge Vavala is a member of the American and Delaware State Bar Associations, the Richard S. Rodney and the Randy J. Holland Inns of Court and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Legal Services Corporation of Delaware. She is also a long-time adjunct professor at both the Delaware Law School and at the Saint Joseph’s University Haub School of Business, teaching on a range of subjects including biomedical and legal ethics, healthcare law and finance, and advanced legal writing.

Judge Vavala’s present term ends May 29, 2036.