SB 314 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

Summary

Like the original bill, Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 314 modernizes the Rape Shield provisions in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, §§ 3508 and 3509 and provides that in any prosecution for any degree of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration or unlawful sexual contact, any evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion is inadmissible unless it complies with the procedure set forth in § 3508 of Title 11, is relevant and is material to a fact in issue in the case, and the inflammatory or prejudicial nature of the evidence does not outweigh the probative value of the evidence. This Senate Substitute differs from the original in that it establishes a separate procedure under § 3508(b) of Title 11 to address prior false accusations of unlawful sexual conduct by the complaining witness, providing a distinct set of standards for handling the unique issues surrounding this type of evidence.

Bill Text

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The bill modernizes the Rape Shield provisions in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, establishing specific procedures for addressing false accusations made by the complaining witness.

• § 3508(b)

  In any prosecution for any degree of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration, or unlawful sexual contact, if any evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion is offered to attack the credibility of the complaining witness the following procedure shall be followed: (1) The defendant must provide reasonable notice of any such evidence that the defendant intends to offer at trial, so that the prosecution has a fair opportunity to meet it.

  This defines the requirements for introducing evidence of prior false accusations to attack the credibility of the complaining witness.

• § 3508(b)

  Such evidence may only be admitted upon motion of the defendant, which shall be heard outside the presence of the jury, and shall state both an offer of proof concerning the nature of evidence of the false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct made by the complaining witness which the defendant proposes to present, and the relevancy of such evidence in attacking the credibility or reliability of the complaining witness.

  This establishes that evidence of false accusations can only be admitted through a formal motion and must demonstrate relevance to the case.

• § 3508(b)

  If the offer of proof does not contain some credible evidence tending to show a reasonable probability that the complaining witness made a materially false allegation of unlawful sexual conduct while either knowing of its falsity or under circumstances that are reasonably likely to affect the reliability of the complaining witness in the present case, the motion shall be denied without examination of the complaining witness outside the presence of the jury.

  This stipulates that a lack of credible evidence regarding the credibility of the witness will result in denial of the motion without additional examination.

• § 3508(b)

  If the offer of proof does contain some credible evidence tending to show a reasonable probability that the complaining witness made a materially false allegation of unlawful sexual conduct while either knowing of its falsity or under circumstances that are reasonably likely to affect the reliability of the complaining witness in the present case, but the offered evidence is not clear and convincing on its face, the court may allow the questioning of the complaining witness, outside the presence of the jury, regarding the offer of proof made by the defendant in order to carefully balance its relevance and probative value against any inflammatory or prejudicial nature of the evidence.

  This provides for a hearing to assess the admissibility of evidence that is credible but not clear and convincing concerning false allegations.

• § 3508(b)

  If the offer of proof demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the complaining witness has made a false allegation of sexual conduct that may be relevant to the assessment of the complaining witness’s credibility or reliability, the evidence shall be admitted, subject to all other relevant statutes and rules, without requiring examination of the complaining witness outside the presence of the jury.

  This allows for the admission of evidence of false allegations if proven with clear and convincing evidence without needing further examination of the witness.

• § 3508(b)

  Extrinsic evidence of a complaining witness’s prior false accusation is admissible if: (a) The complaining witness does not testify in the trial or testifies and denies having made the prior accusation or denies its falsehood. (b) The evidence is of such a clear and convincing nature as to avoid undue confusion of the issues.

  This specifies conditions under which prior false accusations can be considered even if the witness does not testify.

• § 3508(b)

  At the conclusion of the hearing, if the court finds that evidence proposed to be offered by the defendant regarding a prior false allegation of unlawful sexual conduct made by the complaining witness is relevant, and is not inadmissible, the court may issue an order stating what evidence may be introduced by the defendant.

  This enables the court to define which evidence related to prior false accusations is permissible.

• § 3509

  Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the prosecutor’s responsibility to disclose exculpatory information to the defendant when it pertains to evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion. → Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the prosecutor’s responsibility to disclose exculpatory information to the defendant when it pertains to evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion.

  This maintains the existing requirement for the prosecution to disclose exculpatory evidence.

Action History

1. June 30, 2026

   Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 5 On Its Merits

2. June 24, 2026

   Assigned to Administration Committee in House

3. June 23, 2026

   Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES

4. June 17, 2026

   Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

5. June 16, 2026

   Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 314, and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Sponsors

• Stell Parker Selby · Primary
• Eric Morrison · Primary
• Russell Huxtable · Primary
• Mara Gorman · Primary
• Claire Snyder-Hall · Primary
• Cyndie Romer · Primary
• Nicole Poore · Primary

Votes

Subjects