SPONSOR:

Sen. Adams & Rep. Ewing

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

142nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 47

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 2702 OF TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend section 2702 of Title 11 by deleting section 2702 in its entirety and replacing it with the following:

"§ 2702. Jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace Court of offenses contained in Chapter 5 of this Title.

(a) The Justice of the Peace Court shall have original jurisdiction to hear, try and finally determine all misdemeanors created in Chapter 5 of this Title, and any attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit such misdemeanors unless such jurisdiction is excluded by subsection (b) of this section or is otherwise excluded by law.

(b) The Justice of the Peace Court shall not have jurisdiction over the following misdemeanors created in Chapter 5 of this Title:

(1) Section 614 of this Title (assault on a sports official);

(2) Section 625 of this Title (unlawfully administering drugs);

(3) Section 627 of this Title (prohibited acts as to substances releasing vapors or fumes);

(4) Section 652 of this Title (self-abortion);

(5) Section 653 of this Title (issuing abortional articles);

(6) Section 763 of this Title (sexual harassment);

(7) Section 764 of this Title (indecent exposure 2nd degree);

(8) Section 765 of this Title (indecent exposure 1st degree);

(9) Section 766 of this Title (incest);

(10) Section 767 of this Title (unlawful sexual contact 3rd degree);

(11) Section 785 of this Title (interference with custody);

(12) Section 805 of this Title (cross or religious symbol burning);

(13) Section 850 of this Title (use, possession, manufacture, distribution and sale of unlawful telecommunication and access devices);

(14) Section 871 of this Title (falsifying business records);

(15) Section 873 of this title (tampering with public records);

(16) Section 877 of this Title (offering a false instrument for filing);

(17) Section 881 of this Title (bribery);

(18) Section 882 of this Title (bribe receiving);

(19) Section 892 of this Title (fraud in insolvency);

(20) Section 906 of this Title (deceptive business practices);

(21) Section 910 of this Title (debt adjusting);

(22) Section 916 of this Title (home improvement fraud);

(23) Section 917 of this Title (new home construction fraud);

(24) Section 918 of this Title (ticket scalping)

(25) Section 921 of this Title (sale of transferred recorded sounds);

(26) Section 932 of this Title (unauthorized access to computer system);

(27) Section 933 of this Title (theft of computer services);

(28) Section 934 of this Title (interruption of computer services);

(29) Section 935 of this title (misuse of computer system information);

(30) Section 936 of this title (destruction of computer equipment);

(31) Section 937 of this title (unrequested or unauthorized electronic mail);

(32) Section 938 of this title (failure to promptly cease electronic communication upon request);

(33) Section 1101 of this Title (abandonment of a child);

(34) Section 1105 of this Title (endangering the welfare of an incompetent person);

(35) Section 1106 of this Title (unlawfully dealing with a child);

(36) Section 1113 of this Title (criminal non-support);

(37) Section 1114 of this Title (body-piercing; tattooing or branding);

(38) Section 1205 of this Title (giving unlawful gratuities);

(39) Section 1206 of this Title (receiving unlawful gratuities);

(40) Section 1207 of this Title (improper influence);

(41) Section 1211 of this Title (official misconduct);

(42) Section 1212 of this Title (profiteering);

(43) Section 1246 of this Title (compounding a crime);

(44) Section 1249 of this Title (abetting the violation of driver’s license restrictions);

(45) Section 1250 of this title (offenses against law enforcement animals);

(46) Section 1256 of this Title (promoting prison contraband);

(47) Section 1260 of this Title (misuse of prisoner mail);

(48) Section 1266 of this Title (tampering with a juror);

(49) Section 1267 of this Title (misconduct by a juror);

(50) Section 1271A of this Title (criminal contempt of a domestic violence protective order);

(51) Section 1273 of this Title (unlawful grand jury disclosure);

(52) Section 1304 of this Title (hate crimes);

(53) Section 1332 of this Title (abusing a corpse);

(54) Section 1327 (maintaining a dangerous animal);

(55) Section 1333 of this Title (trading in human remains and associated funerary objects);

(56) Section 1335 of this Title (violation of privacy);

(57) Section 1365 of this Title (obscene literature harmful to minors);

(58) Section 1366 of this Title (outdoor motion picture theatres);

(59) Section 1411 of this Title (unlawfully disseminating gambling information);

(60) Section 1428 of this Title (maintaining an obstruction of gambling location);

(61) Section 1448A of this Title (offenses related to criminal history record checks for sale of firearms);

(62) Section 1456 (unlawfully permitting a minor access to a firearm);

(63) Section 1457 (possession of a weapon in a safe school zone)."

(c) This Act shall become effective ninety days after its enactment into Law.

SYNOPSIS

The Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction over misdemeanors only when such jurisdiction is granted in the statute defining the offense or section 2702 of Title 11. In many instances, legislation has inadvertently neglected to grant jurisdiction to the Justice of the Peace Court; thus, requiring many misdemeanors, which could otherwise be handled in the Justice of the Peace Court, to be handled in the Court of Common Pleas. For example, the Justice of the Peace Court currently does not have jurisdiction over graffiti (11 Del. C. §812). The amendment to section 2702 resolves this problem by providing that the Justice of the Peace Court shall have jurisdiction over all misdemeanors unless otherwise specified. The legislation also amends section 2702 to provide a list of misdemeanors over which the Justice of the Peace Court shall not have jurisdiction. In so doing, the legislation, in effect, adds a number of offenses to the jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace Court. A chart showing the offenses which will be added to the misdemeanor jurisdiction of the Justice of the Peace Court by this amendment is attached, for informational purposes, as Exhibit A.

New section 2702 will also resolve an existing problem in construing section 2702. That problem has occurred as a result of the specification in section 2702 of the existing level of the misdemeanor. Upon occasion, the misdemeanor level for an offense has been changed without an accompanying change having been made to section 2702. For example, current subsection (39) states that the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction over: "Section 1311 of this title (harassment; unclassified misdemeanor)". However, recent legislation changed the level of this misdemeanor from an unclassified misdemeanor to a class B misdemeanor, without changing section 2702. This has resulted in questions as to whether the Justice of the Peace Court has jurisdiction over the offense of harassment as a class B misdemeanor. New section 2702 will resolve this problem by giving the Justice of the Peace Court jurisdiction over all misdemeanors unless otherwise specified (and the amended version of section 2702 specifies only which offenses are excluded and not the misdemeanor level).

 

Author: Senator Adams

Exhibit A

ADDITIONS TO THE MISDEMEANOR JURISDICTION

OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT

Title 11 Statute to be Added to JP Court Jurisdiction

Misdemeanor Offense Level

Similar Type(s) of Offense(s) Over Which JP Currently has Jurisdiction

628 (vehicular assault)

Class B

611 – assault third

781 (unlawful imprisonment)

Class A

611 – assault third

791 – coercion

Class A

501 - attempt ,

511 – conspiracy

531 - solicitation

804 (reckless burning or exploding)

Class A

603 – reckless endangering

812 (graffiti)

Unclassified

1331 - desecration

811 – criminal mischief

849 (theft of rented property)

Class A

845 – theft of services

Deception-related offenses – 891 (defrauding secured creditors by destroying, concealing property); 909 (securing execution of documents by deception); 914 (use of consumer identification information); 915 (use of credit card information)

Class A – 891, 906, 909

Unclassified – 914, 915

843 – theft; false pretenses

848- misapplication of property

851 – receiving stolen property

861 – forgery

892 – interference with levied upon property

903 – unlawful use of credit card

1233- making a false written statement

Offenses Related to Recording Devices –922 (improper labeling); 925 (video privacy)

Class A – 921

Unclassified – 922 and 925

841 – theft

845 – theft of services

1248 (obstructing control of rabies)

Class B

1325 – cruelty to animals

1241 – refusing to aid a police officer

1243 – obstructing fire-fighting operations;

1246 (compounding a crime)

Class A

511 – conspiracy

1250 (offenses against law enforcement animals)

Unclassified or

Class A

1244 – hindering prosecution

1325 – cruelty to animals

1257A (use of an animal to avoid capture)

Class A or Unclassified

1244 – hindering prosecution

1257 – resisting arrest

1325 – cruelty to animals

1324 (obstructing ingress and egress in public building)

Unclassified

602- menacing

1340 (desecration of burial place)

Class A

1331 - desecration

811 – criminal mischief

1401-1406 (gambling offenses)

Class A

1407 engaging in a crap game

Specific Dangerous Weapon/Instrument Offenses

1445 (unlawfully dealing with a dangerous weapon);

1452 (unlawfully dealing with knuckles-combination knife);

1453 (unlawfully dealing with martial arts throwing star).

Class A -1456 and 1457

Class B - 1452, 1453, and 1457

Unclassified - 1445

1443 – carrying a concealed dangerous instrument

1446 - unlawfully dealing with a switchblade knife