Criminal Justice

The purpose of this Act is to protect victims of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment from retaliatory lawsuits that arise when a victim of sexual assault discloses information regarding an act of sexual assault, discrimination, or harassment. Specifically, this Act protects assault victims from defamation lawsuits by placing a higher burden of proof on the complainant, even if the complainant is a private figure. It also entitles a prevailing defendant in a defamation lawsuit to attorneys’ fees and costs, actual damages, and punitive damages.

This Concurrent Resolution recognizes April 19-25, 2026, as "Crime Victims' Rights Week" in the State of Delaware. The following websites provide more information on Crime Victims' Rights Week and the resources available to victims and survivors of crime: Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, at https://dcadv.org Delaware Victims' Rights Task Force, at https://delawarevictimservices.org

This Act requires every law enforcement agency in Delaware to adopt and publicly post a written policy requiring officers to display identification while performing enforcement duties. Identification must include the officer’s agency and a name, a badge number, or both. This Act also recognizes that there are circumstances where identification cannot or should not be displayed. It creates exceptions for: • Officers engaged in active undercover operations. • Officers wearing personal protective equipment (such as gas masks or respirators) that prevents identification from being visible. • Exigent circumstances, including imminent threats to people or property, an escape in progress, or the destruction of evidence. • Cases where there is a specific and articulable threat to the physical safety of the officer if identification is displayed. To ensure accountability, this Act makes failure to display identification a violation. Repeated violations may result in an unclassified misdemeanor, underscoring the seriousness of the requirement. This Act serves to empower Delaware law enforcement officers to intervene and verify the identity of any person claiming or otherwise acting as law enforcement but who fails to display clear identification, but nothing in this Act diminishes the discretion of law enforcement officers to determine whether it is appropriate to stop or charge any person. This Act also strikes a balance by giving the public confidence that law enforcement officers can be identified and held accountable while also preserving officer safety and operational effectiveness.

This Act amends the Delaware Wrongful Conviction Compensation and Services Act (DWCCSA) in several ways. First, in order to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to compensation, under the Act, a petitioner must show that the petitioner did not commit a felony arising from the same transaction as the crime for which the petitioner was originally convicted. Second, the Act modifies what attorneys' fees may be recovered for an action to overturn, reverse, or vacate a conviction and an action under the DWCCSA. Under the Act, a petitioner who prevails on a cause of action against the state for wrongful conviction shall be awarded reasonable attorneys' fees, based on hours reasonably expended at the prevailing market rate for similar legal services in the state at the time of an award for damages for wrongful conviction, regardless of when the legal services were actually provided. Attorneys' fees of $300,000 or less will be paid to the petitioner's attorneys in a lump sum; attorneys' fees in excess of $300,000 will be paid in annual installments of not more than $300,000, until the award is satisfied. Third, under the Act, the Office of Management and Budget takes over tasks and responsibilities that currently belong to the State Treasurer, including the annual adjustment in the amount of damages available under § 7005(a) of Title 10, management of the Wrongful Conviction Compensation Fund will exist with the legal services appropriation within the Office of Management and Budget, and the obligation to report quarterly to the Joint Finance Committee and the Controller General. The Act takes effect upon its enactment into law. This Act is a substitute for and differs from SB 282 in that it omits a provision limiting the attorneys' fees a petitioner may recover to 15% of the damages awarded under § 7005(a) of Title 10.

In 2013, Congress enacted the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, 34 U.S.C. § 60105, which requires states to report to the U.S. Department of Justice the deaths of individuals who die in the custody of law enforcement. Failure to comply may result in the reduction of certain federal grant funds. In 2024, the Criminal Justice Council, which is responsible for ensuring Delaware's participation in the data collection required by the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013, arranged for the Statistical Analysis Center to serve as the Criminal Justice Center's agent to coordinate and manage the logistics of this data collection. The Criminal Justice Council and Statistical Analysis Center issued guidance to law enforcement on the requirements of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 and the process and procedures to be used to comply with these reporting requirements. This Act codifies the process and procedures established by the Criminal Justice Council and Statistical Analysis Center related to the reporting required by the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. In addition, this Act requires compliance reporting and provides that a law-enforcement agency that fails to comply with this Act is ineligible for certain funding until the agency complies with this Act.

This Act is a result of the Joint Legislative Oversight and Sunset Committee's (JLOSC) review of the Council on Correction. In 2021, JLOSC sponsored Senate Bill No. 129 of the 151st General Assembly, which, among other updates to the Council on Correction's statute, tasked the Criminal Justice Council with providing administrative support to the Council on Correction. This partnership was intended to provide the Council on Correction with needed staff support and training opportunities. SB 129 included a 5-year sunset provision to review the efficacy of the partnership. Because the partnership has been successful, this Act removes the sunset provision so that the partnership may continue. Otherwise, the partnership will expire on September 17, 2026.

This Act prohibits law-enforcement officers from wearing facial coverings that obscure the identity of the individual wearing them in the course of their duties, with exceptions for undercover operations and exigent circumstances. This Act ensures that law enforcement officers in Delaware cannot wear masks or facial coverings that hide their identity when they are carrying out their official duties. Our community deserves to know who is enforcing the law, and clear identification is essential to building trust between residents and law enforcement. When law enforcement officers are acting in public and exercising authority, people should be able to see their faces. This improves accountability, strengthens public confidence, and makes Delaware safer for everyone. The bill defines “facial covering” to include items like balaclavas, ski masks, or tactical masks that obscure the face. It does not ban protective equipment such as medical masks, respirators, or breathing devices that officers need for health and safety, nor does it interfere with undercover operations that require anonymity. It also specifically exempts undercover operations that occur during the course of a criminal investigation or for SWAT teams that are specially trained police units used in high-risk situations that go beyond the capacity of regular patrol officers. This Act serves to empower Delaware law enforcement officers to intervene and verify the identity of any person claiming or otherwise acting as law enforcement while wearing a facial covering, but nothing in this Act diminishes the discretion of law enforcement officers to determine whether it is appropriate to stop or charge any person.

This Act codifies Executive Order No. 9 issued on May 1, 2025, by Governor Matthew Meyer regarding the establishment, within the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety.

This Act does all of the following: (1) Establishes a regulatory framework for substance use harm reduction programs that provides immunities for program providers and staff. (2) Modifies the definition of drug paraphernalia. (3) Decriminalizes possession of paraphernalia for individuals who use drugs, while retaining prohibitions for paraphernalia used in the manufacturing or distribution of drugs and the selling of certain drug paraphernalia. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This bill excludes a person convicted and sentenced for a class A felony from being able to have their sentence of incarceration modified under § 4217 of Title 11.