Bill Text: DE SB99 | 2011-2012 | 146th General Assembly | Draft

Delaware Senate Bill 99 (Prior Session Legislation)

Draft

Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 11 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Identification Of Victims And Witnesses In Criminal Proceedings.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-06-02 - Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate [SB99 Detail]

Download: Delaware-2011-SB99-Draft.html

SPONSOR:	Sen. Blevins & Rep. George & Rep. Hudson
	Sens. Simpson, Sorenson; Reps. Carson, J. Johnson, Mitchell, Walker, D.P. Williams, Willis

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 99

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Title 11 the Delaware Code by adding a new Chapter thereto designated as Chapter 32 which shall read as follows:

"CHAPTER 32. IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIMS AND WITNESSES.

§3201. Applicability.

Unless any statute or Rule of Criminal Procedure expressly provides otherwise, the provisions of this

chapter shall apply to any criminal or delinquency proceeding brought for the purpose of determining liability for the commission of any crime or offense as those terms are defined in §233 of this title.

§3202. Definitions.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) "Crime" or "offense" shall have the same meaning as set forth in §233 of this title.

(b) "Court" means the Superior Court, Family Court, Court of Common Pleas and the Justice of the Peace Court.

(d) "Witness" shall have the same meaning as set forth in §9401 of this title.

§3203. Identification of victims or witnesses in court or law-enforcement documents.

(a) Whenever it may be necessary in any police report, criminal complaint or warrant, indictment or information, delinquency petition or other charging instrument, pleading, or any judicial decision or court document, to allege or set forth a victim's or witness's identity, it shall be sufficient to identify the victim or witness by initials, pseudonym or other like manner.

(b) Whenever, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, a victim or witness has been identified in a manner other than by his or her name, the Attorney General or the investigating law-enforcement agency shall maintain a record of the victim's or witness's name and other identifying information. Any record maintained pursuant to this subsection, is exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act [Chapter 100 of Title 29].

§3204. Disclosure by court order.

(a) Whenever, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, a victim or witness has been identified in a manner other than by his or her name, the court in a criminal or delinquency proceeding may order the disclosure of the victim's or witness's name only if the court finds that disclosure of the information is required by law or when the interests of justice otherwise require.

(b) Disclosure of any other identifying information of a victim or witness shall be governed by the provisions of Chapter 94 of this title.

(c) Whenever, pursuant to the provisions of this chapter or the provisions of chapter 94 of this title, the court in a criminal or delinquency proceeding has ordered the disclosure of the name or other identifying information of a victim or witness to the defendant or respondent or his or her attorney in order to prepare the defense, the defendant or respondent may not disclose that information to any person other than his or her attorney or any other person directly involved in the preparation of the defense. A knowing disclosure of the identifying information to any other person by the defendant or respondent shall be prosecuted pursuant to §1271 of this title. Any such prosecution pursuant to §1271 of this title shall not preclude prosecution under any other provision of this Code."

SYNOPSIS

This Act increases the privacy protection of crime victims and witnesses by permitting, while not requiring, the use of initials or pseudonyms in law-enforcement reports and court documents. Due to the increasing accessibility of such documents online, victims and witnesses are increasingly subject embarrassment, harassment or even threats due to their involvement in the criminal justice process.

Author: Senator Blevins