Charles S. Richards

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Charles S. Richards (1878 – October 8, 1971) was a Delaware judge who served as chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1945 to 1951 and as the first president judge of the Delaware Superior Court from 1951 to 1956.

Born in Georgetown, Delaware, he studied law at Georgetown University and was admitted to the bar in Sussex on April 7, 1904. In 1929, Governor C. Douglass Buck named him Resident Judge of Sussex County, and he took office on June 3, 1929.

On August 13, 1945, Governor Walter W. Bacon nominated Richards as chief justice after withdrawing Daniel J. Layton’s nomination; the nomination was quickly confirmed. When the court was reorganized, Richards became the first President Judge of the Superior Court on May 8, 1951.

While on the bench, he helped preserve the traditional look of the Sussex County Courthouse during rebuilding and was cited as one of six judges who helped build important corporate law case precedents.

Richards retired on January 1, 1956. He was hospitalized for a broken hip at Beebe Memorial Hospital in Lewes in September 1971 and died weeks later after a short illness at age 93.