Darius Brown
- Democratic
- Senator
- District 2
Primary
This Act establishes that the age of offense and not the age of arrest determines jurisdiction for a person facing charges. Currently, if a person commits a delinquent act before age 18 but is arrested after age 18, the offense is automatically heard before the adult court of jurisdiction. See Howard v. State, 612 A.2d 158 (Del. 1992) (Table). This Act reverses this procedure so that if the offense occurs before the age of 18 and the arrest is after a person’s 18th birthday, but before their 21st birthday, the Family Court will have jurisdiction. However, this Act makes clear that this Act does not preclude prosecuting a person to whom the Act applies as an adult, as permitted in Title 10.
Signed by Governor
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 On Its Merits
Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT
Reported Out of Committee (Judicial) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
Introduced and Assigned to Judicial Committee in Senate
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