Gary Francis Traynor (born August 25, 1956) is an American lawyer who serves as a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. ^[1]

Traynor was born in Dover, Delaware, in 1956, and graduated from Dover High School. ^[2] He completed a bachelor's degree in history at Dartmouth College in 1978, and a J.D. degree at Widener University Delaware Law School in 1982. ^{[3] [4]}

Traynor was in private practice in Dover from 1982 to 1990 at the law firm Brown, Shiels & Chasanov, and in Wilmington from 1990 to 2014 at the law firm Prickett, Jones & Elliot. ^[1] He also served as an officer in the Delaware Army National Guard from 1990 to 1991, and was a commissioner on the Delaware River and Bay Authority from 2009 to 2014. ^[1]

Traynor worked for the state as an assistant public defender for Sussex County from 2015 to 2017. ^[4]

On February 9, 2017, Delaware Supreme Court justice Randy J. Holland announced that he would retire from the court at the end of March. ^[5] On May 14, 2017, the Governor of Delaware John Carney announced that he would nominate Traynor to the vacant seat. ^[4] Carney and Traynor went to the same high school, played on the same football team, and also attended Dartmouth together. ^{[2] [6]}

Traynor is a Republican. ^[4] Governor Carney, a Democrat, was required to nominate a Republican to replace Holland under state law, because no party can have more than three members on the state's supreme court. ^[1]

The Delaware Senate unanimously confirmed Traynor's nomination on June 7, 2017. ^[7] His twelve-year term on the Delaware Supreme Court began on July 5, 2017. ^[1]

References