Delaware 150th General Assembly (2019-2020) Status: Passed Senate Bipartisan · 5 D · 1 R cosponsors

SB 104 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROBATION BEFORE JUDGMENT.

Last action — Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 On Its Merits

Track this bill free

No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

This bill clarifies that Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) may be entered for multiple charges arising from a single arrest. Changes to the legislation also allow for a defendant to be permitted Probation Before Judgment more than once in a five year period so long as offenses are in different titles of the Code. For example, a defendant who was granted PBJ in 2017 for speeding (title 21) would be eligible for PBJ on a title 11 charge (e.g. bad check) or title 4 (e.g. underage consumption of alcohol) in 2019.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

9 added · 100 removed

9 line(s) added, 100 removed.

→
Previous
Latest
Brown & Rep.
Brown DELAWARE STATE SENATE 150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE AMENDMENT NO.
Lynn & Rep.
1 TO SENATE BILL NO.
Dorsey Walker Sens.
104 AMEND Senate Bill No.
Paradee, Townsend;
104 on line 53 by adding “or” following “section;”.
Reps.
FURTHER AMEND Senate Bill No.
Baumbach, Kowalko, Minor-Brown, Michael Smith, Smyk DELAWARE STATE SENATE 150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY SENATE BILL NO.
104 by deleting line 54 in its entirety.
104 AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROBATION BEFORE JUDGMENT.
SYNOPSIS This Amendment allows persons who have been adjudicated delinquent of a crime as a juvenile to be eligible for Probation Before Judgement under the provisions of this section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1.
Amend § 4218, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 4218 Probation before judgment.
(a) Subject to the limitations set forth in this section, for a violation or misdemeanor offense under Title 4, 7, or this title, or for any violation or misdemeanor offense under Title 21 which is designated as a motor vehicle offense subject to voluntary assessment by § 709 of Title 21, or a violation of § 2702 of Title 14, or for violations of § 4166(d) of Title 21, or for violations of § 4172 of Title 21, or for a violation of a county or municipal code, or for a misdemeanor offense under § 4764, § 4771 or § 4774 of Title 16, or for a misdemeanor offense under § 4810(a) of Title 29, a court exercising criminal jurisdiction after accepting a guilty plea or nolo contendere plea may, with the consent of the defendant and the State, stay the entry of judgment, defer further proceedings, and place the defendant on "probation before judgment'' subject to such reasonable terms and conditions as may be appropriate for any charges arising from a single arrest.
The terms and conditions of any probation before judgment shall include the following requirements:
(i) the defendant shall provide the court with that defendant's current address;
(ii) the defendant shall promptly provide the court with written notice of any change of address;
and (iii) the defendant shall appear if summoned at any hearing convened for the purpose of determining whether the defendant has violated or fulfilled the terms and conditions of probation before judgment.
The terms and conditions may include any or all of the following:
(1) Ordering the defendant to pay a pecuniary penalty;
(2) Ordering the defendant to pay court costs to the State;
(3) Ordering the defendant to pay restitution;
(4) Ordering the defendant to perform community service;
(5) Ordering the defendant to refrain from contact with certain persons;
and (6) Ordering the defendant to conduct themselves in a specified manner.
SD :
KB :
CBK Page 1 of 4 Released:
06/04/2019 04:00 PM The length of the period of probation before judgment shall be fixed by the court, but in no event shall the total period of probation before judgment exceed the maximum term of commitment provided by law for the offense or 1 year, whichever is greater.
(b) This section may not be substituted for:
(1) Section 1024 of Title 10.
First offenders domestic violence diversion program;
(2) Section 900A of this title.
Conditional discharge for issuing a bad check as first offense;
or (3) Section 4177B of Title 21.
First offenders;
election in lieu of trial.
(c)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, no person shall be admitted to probation before judgment if:
a. The person is currently serving a sentence of incarceration, probation, parole or early release of any type imposed for another offense;
b. The person is charged with any offense set forth in this title, and has previously been convicted of any violent felony;
c. The person is charged with any offense set forth in this title, and has previously been convicted of any nonviolent felony within 10 years of the date of the commission of the alleged offense;
d. The person is charged with any offense set forth in this title, and has previously been convicted of any misdemeanor offense within 5 years of the date of the commission of the alleged offense;
Show all 74 changed rows (34 more)
Previous
Latest
e. The person is charged with any offense set forth in Title 4 or 7, and has been previously convicted of any offense set forth in Title 4 or 7 within 5 years of the date of the commission of the alleged offense;
f. The person is currently charged with any offense set forth in § 709 of Title 21, and has been previously convicted of any offense set forth in Title 21 within 5 years of the date of the commission of the alleged offense;
g. The person is currently charged with a violation of § 2702 of Title 14 and has been previously convicted of a violation of 2702 of Title 14 within 5 years of the date of the alleged offense;
or h. The person is charged with a violation of a county or municipal code provision and has previously been convicted of a violation of another county or municipal code provision within 5 years of the date of the commission of the alleged offense.
i. The person is charged with an offense involving a motor vehicle and holds a commercial driver license (CDL).
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, the following shall also constitute a previous conviction:
SD :
KB :
CBK Page 2 of 4 Released:
06/04/2019 04:00 PM a. A conviction under the laws of another state, the United States, or any territory of the United States of any offense which is the same as, or equivalent to, any offense specified in paragraph (c)(1) of this section;
b. An adjudication of delinquency;
or c. Any adjudication, resolution, disposition or program set forth in § 4177B(e)(1) of Title 21.
(d) This section shall not be available to any person who has previously been admitted to probation before judgment for any offense involving the same title within 5 years of the current offense.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit probation before judgment for a violation of a county or municipal code that would not be permitted for the corresponding state code offense.
(f) Upon a violation of a term or condition of the court's order of probation before judgment, the court may enter judgment and proceed with disposition of the person as if the person had not been placed on probation before judgment.
(g) Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions of probation before judgment, the court shall enter an order discharging the person from probation.
The burden shall be upon the defendant to demonstrate that the terms and conditions of probation have been fulfilled.
The discharge is the final disposition of the matter.
Discharge of a person under this section shall be without judgment of conviction and is not a conviction for purposes of any disqualification or disability imposed by law because of conviction of a crime.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of this section to the contrary, the court shall not admit a defendant to probation before judgment nor otherwise apply any provision of this section unless the defendant first gives written consent to the court permitting any hearing or proceeding pursuant to this section to occur in the defendant's absence if:
(1) Timely notice of the hearing or proceeding is sent or delivered to the address provided by the defendant pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;
and (2) The defendant fails to appear at said proceeding.
In the event that a defendant fails to appear at any hearing or proceeding pursuant to this section, the court may proceed in the defendant's absence if it first finds that timely notice of the hearing or proceeding was sent or delivered to the address provided by the defendant pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.
Nothing in this subsection shall limit the power of the court to hold a hearing to determine whether a defendant is in violation of the terms of that defendant's probation.
(i) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section to the contrary, in any case in which the Delaware Department of Justice does not intend to enter its appearance, the consent of the State shall not be required prior to placing a defendant on "probation before judgment.'' Notwithstanding the foregoing, except for the offenses SD :
KB :
CBK Page 3 of 4 Released:
06/04/2019 04:00 PM under Title 21 to which this section applies, the Attorney General or other prosecuting authority may advise the court of aggravating circumstances in opposition to placing a defendant on "probation before judgment.'' SYNOPSIS This bill clarifies that Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) may be entered for multiple charges arising from a single arrest.
Changes to the legislation also allow for a defendant to be permitted Probation Before Judgment more than once in a five year period so long as offenses are in different titles of the Code.
For example, a defendant who was granted PBJ in for speeding (title 21) would be eligible for PBJ on a title 11 charge (e.g.
bad check) or title 4 (e.g.
underage consumption of alcohol) in 2019.
CBK Page 4 of 4 Released:
ALW Page 1 of 1 Released:
06/04/2019 04:00 PM 4761500060
06/13/2019 04:12 PM 2711500033
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (2)

Action History

  1. Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 On Its Merits

  2. Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

  3. Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT

  4. Amendment SA 1 to SB 104 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 1 NO 1 ABSENT

  5. Amendment SA 1 to SB 104 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  6. Reported Out of Committee (Judicial) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits

  7. Introduced and Assigned to Judicial Committee in Senate

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

3 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 52 not signed on · 1 voted No

Sponsors (3)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (52)

52 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 52 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 19 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5101
Democratic 9000
Republican 5000
Total 19101
% of votes cast 90%5%0%5%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Anthony Delcollo — Yea
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Catherine Cloutier — Not Voting
Colin Bonini — Nay
David B. McBride — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
Harris B. McDowell — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Yea
Darius J. Brown Democratic Yea
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
S. Elizabeth Lockman Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Yea
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 104 do?
This bill clarifies that Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) may be entered for multiple charges arising from a single arrest. Changes to the legislation also allow for a defendant to be permitted Probation Before Judgment more than once in a five year period so long as offenses are in different titles of the Code. For example, a defendant who was granted PBJ in 2017 for speeding (title 21) would be eligible for PBJ on a title 11 charge (e.g. bad check) or title 4 (e.g. underage consumption of alcohol) in 2019.
Who sponsors SB 104?
SB 104 is sponsored by Michael F. Smith (Republican), Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), John A. Kowalko, Stephen Smyk, Sherry Dorsey Walker, and Paul S. Baumbach.
What is the current status of SB 104?
This bill died with 150th General Assembly (2019-2020). It reached “Passed Senate” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track SB 104?
Track SB 104 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on SB 104

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of SB 104

Last checked for changes 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →