Henry Ridgely Horsey (October 18, 1924 – March 3, 2016) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as a justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from 1978 to 1994.
He was drafted at age 18 and served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946 as an infantry and combat engineer before entering the European Theater and being discharged as a sergeant.
After the death of his grandmother, Horsey moved to Dover in 1965 and continued to practice law as a deputy attorney general of the state of Delaware.
[2] His opinion in Riley v. State of Delaware (1985) explained the holding that a defendant's or lawyer's objection to a proposed juror solely on the basis of race is a violation of a criminal defendant's rights to a trial by an impartial jury,[9] which became the format for the Supreme Court's seminal holding to prohibit such objections in criminal proceedings (Baston v. United States, 476 U.S.79 (1986)).
[2] Horsey's opinion for the Delaware Supreme Court in Paramount Communications, Inc. v. Time Inc. (1989) explained the holding that target corporations have the right to defend their long-term goals when faced with a hostile merger or acquisition offer, as long as they are not in Revlon mode.
The decision also held that parents filing a wrongful life suit can recover damages, which exceed the normal cost of raising a child.