Delaware
State Constitution
Constitution Text
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Section 20: A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and State, and for hunting and recreational use. (4-16-87)
WE DECLARE THAT EVERYTHING IN THIS ARTICLE IS RESERVED OUT OF THE GENERAL POWERS OF GOVERNMENT HEREINAFTER MENTIONED.
Section 2: Composition of House and Senate; terms of office; districts; election.
Sections 2 and 2A, Article II of the Constitution relating to the composition of the House and Senate was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States on June 15, 1964. Roman et all. v. Sincock et al. 377 U.S. 395. The composition of the General Assembly is now regulated by statute.
Section 2A: Additional representative districts.
See the Note under Section 2, Article II, above.
Section 4: The General Assembly shall convene on the second Tuesday of January of each calendar year unless otherwise convened by the Governor, or by mutual call of the presiding officers of both Houses.
The General Assembly may continue in session each calendar year so long as, in its judgment, the public interest may require; however, each session shall not extend beyond the last day of June unless the session is recalled by the Governor or the mutual call of the presiding officers of both Houses.
Section 17: All forms of gambling are prohibited in this State except the following:
(a) Lotteries under State control for the purpose of raising funds, (b) Lotteries (other than slot machines, roulette, craps, and baccarat games) provided that each is sponsored and conducted under the limitations of Section 17B by companies, organizations, or societies which have been in existence for at least two years; provided, however, that no person who shall not have attained the age of 18 years shall participate in any lottery (where money is the prize) otherwise authorized by the Article. (6-2-83) (c) Wagering or betting by the use of pari-mutuel machines or totalizators on horse races conducted at racetracks within or without the State, provided that such wagering or betting may be conducted only either: (1) within the enclosure of any racetrack licensed under the laws of the State to conduct a race meeting, or (2) within the enclosure of any racetrack licensed under the laws of the State to receive and accept wagers or bets on electronically televised simulcasts of horse races. (1/24/91)
Section 17A: (d) Bingo games as conducted under the limitations of
The General Assembly shall enforce this Section by appropriate legislation.
Section 17A: The game of Bingo shall be lawful when sponsored and conducted by Volunteer Fire Companies, Veteran's Organizations, Religious or Charitable Organizations, or by Fraternal Societies provided the net receipts or profits arising from the conducting or operating of such Bingo games by the aforementioned Companies, Organizations, or Societies are used solely for the promotion or achievement of the purposes of such Companies, Organization, or Societies, and provided further that the aforementioned Companies, Organizations or Societies are operated in a manner so as to come within the provisions of Section 170 of the U.S. Revenue Code and Regulations promulgated thereunder by the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury.
1. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the submission to the vote of the qualified electors of the several districts of the State, or any of them, mentioned in subparagraph 2 of Section 17A of this article at the General Election held in 1958, the question whether the playing of the game of "Bingo" shall be licensed or prohibited within the limits thereof; and in every district in which there is a majority against license, no organization, mentioned in Section 17A, shall thereafter sponsor or permit the playing of "Bingo", within said district, until at a subsequent submission of such question a majority of votes shall be cast in said district for license. Whenever a majority of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly by the qualified electors in any district named in subparagraph 2 of Section 17A of this Article shall request the submission of the question of license or no license to a vote of the qualified electors in said district, the General Assembly shall provide for the submission of such question to the qualified electors in such district at the next general election thereafter. 2. Under the provisions of this Article, Sussex County shall comprise one district, Kent County shall comprise one district, the City of Wilmington, as its corporate limits now are or may hereafter be extended, one district, and the remaining part of New Castle County, one district. 3. The General Assembly shall provide necessary laws to carry out and enforce the provisions of this Article, enact laws governing the game of "Bingo" under the limitations of this Article, and may provide such penalties as may be necessary to enforce same.
Section 17B: Lotteries not under State control; organizations to conduct; submission to referendum; districts; regulation; penalties.
Lotteries not under State control shall be lawful when sponsored and conducted by Volunteer Fire Companies, Veterans Organizations, Religious or Charitable Organizations, or by Fraternal Societies provided that said Company, Organization or Society has been in existence a minimum of two years and provided the net receipts or profits arising from the conducting or operating of such lotteries by the aforementioned Companies, Organizations, or Societies are used solely for the promotion or achievement of the purposes of such Companies, Organizations, or Societies, and provided further that the aforementioned Companies, Organizations, or Societies are operated in a manner so as to come within the provisions of Section 170 of the U.S. Revenue Code and Regulations promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. 1. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the submission to the vote of the qualified electors of the several districts of the State, or any of them, mentioned in subparagraph 2 of Section 17B of this Article at the General Election held in 1984, the question whether the playing of lotteries not under State control shall be licensed or prohibited within the limits thereof; and in every district in which there is a majority against license, no organization, mentioned in Section 17B, shall thereafter sponsor or permit lotteries not under State control, within said district, until at a subsequent submission of such question a majority of votes shall be cast in said district for license. Whenever a majority of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly by the qualified electors in any district named in subparagraph 2 of Section 17B of this Article shall request the submission of the question of license or no license to a vote of the qualified electors in said district, the General Assembly shall provide for the submission of such question to the qualified electors in such district at the next general election thereafter. 3. The General Assembly shall enact comprehensive legislation providing for licensing for all organizations conducting and regulating the conduct of lotteries under the provisions of this section and may provide such penalties as may be necessary to enforce such legislation. (6-2-83)
Section 19: The General Assembly shall not pass any local or special law relating to fences; the straying of live stock; ditches; the creation or changing the boundaries of school districts; or the laying out, opening, alteration, maintenance or vacation, in whole or in part of any road, highway, street, lane or alley; provided, however, that the General Assembly may by a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House pass laws relating to the laying out, opening, alteration or maintenance of any road or highway which forms a continuous road or highway extending through at least a portion of the three counties of the State.
No road, highway or street, intended to be dedicated to public use and maintained at public expense, shall be constructed except in conformance with standards adopted by the agency charged with construction, reconstruction or maintenance of such road, highway, or street. Any road or street, constructed solely for private use, shall only be maintained at State expense after it has been constructed or reconstructed according to the standards established by the agency charged with the duty of maintaining such roads or streets.
Section 4: Contested elections of the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor shall be determined by a joint committee, consisting of one-third of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, to be selected by ballot of the Houses respectively. Every member of the committee shall take an oath or affirmation that in determining the said election he will faithfully discharge the trust reposed in him; and the committee shall always sit with open doors.
The Chief Justice, or, in case of his absence or disability, the Chancellor shall preside at the trial of any contested election of Governor or Lieutenant-Governor, and shall decide questions regarding the admissibility of evidence, and shall, upon request of the committee, pronounce his opinion upon other questions of law involved in the trial.
Section 9: He shall have power, unless herein otherwise provided, to appoint, by and with the consent of a majority of all the members elected to the Senate, such officers as he is or may be authorized by this Constitution or by law to appoint. He shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, in offices to which he may appoint, except in the offices of Chancellor, Chief Justice and Associate Judges, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the end of the next session of the Senate.
He shall have power to fill all vacancies that may happen in elective offices, except in the offices of Lieutenant-Governor and members of the General Assembly, by granting Commissions which shall expire when their successors shall be duly qualified. In case of vacancy in an elective office, except as aforesaid, a person shall be chosen to said office for the full term at the next general election, unless the vacancy shall happen within two months next before such election, in which case the election for said office shall be held at the second succeeding general election. Unless herein otherwise provided, confirmation by the Senate of officers appointed by the Governor shall be required only where the salary, fees and emoluments of office shall exceed the sum of five hundred dollars annually.
Section 11: No person shall be elected or appointed to an office within a County who shall not have a right to vote for a Representative in the General Assembly, and have been a resident therein one year next before his election or appointment, nor hold the office longer than he continues to reside in the County, unless herein otherwise provided.
No member of Congress, nor any person holding or exercising any office under the United States, except officers usually appointed by the courts of Justice respectively and attorneys-at-law, shall at the same time hold or exercise any office of profit under this State, unless herein otherwise provided. No person shall hold more than one of the following offices at the same time, to wit: Secretary of State, Attorney-General, Insurance Commissioner, State Treasurer, Auditor of Accounts, Prothonotary, Clerk of the Peace, Register of Wills, Recorder, or Sheriff.
Section 18: Every bill which shall have passed both Houses of the General Assembly shall, before it becomes law, be presented to the Governor; if he approves, he shall sign it; but if he shall not approve, he shall return it with his objections to the House in which it shall have originated, which House shall enter the objections at large on the journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, three-fifths of all the members elected to that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent together with the objections to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by three-fifths of all the members elected to that House, it shall become a law; but in neither House shall the vote be taken on the day on which the bill shall be returned to it. In all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the members voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the Governor within ten days, Sundays excepted, after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the General Assembly shall, by final adjournment, prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law without the approval of the Governor.
For purposes of return of Bills not approved by the Governor the General Assembly shall be considered to be continuously in Session until final adjournment and the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall be deemed proper recipients of such returned bills during recess or adjournment of the General Assembly other than final adjournment. No bill shall become a law after the final adjournment of the General Assembly, unless approved by the Governor within thirty days after such adjournment. The Governor shall have power to disapprove of any item or items of any bill making appropriations of money, embracing distinct items, and the part or parts of the bill approved shall be the law, and the item or items of appropriation disapproved shall be void, unless repassed according to the rules and limitations prescribed for the passage of other bills, over the Executive veto. Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of both Houses of the General Assembly may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment, shall be presented to the Governor, and before the same shall take effect be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by three-fifths of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill. Every order and resolution to which the concurrence of both Houses of the General Assembly may be necessary, except on a question of adjournment and those matters dealing solely with the internal or administrative affairs of the General Assembly, shall be presented to the Governor, and before the same shall take effect be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by three-fifths of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.
Section 19: A Lieutenant-Governor shall be chosen at the same time, in the same manner, for the same term, and subject to the same provisions as the Governor; he shall possess the same qualifications of eligibility for office as the Governor; he shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless the Senate be equally divided.
The Lieutenant-Governor, for his services as President of the Senate, shall receive the same compensation as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Lieutenant-Governor, for his services as a member of the Board of Pardons and for all other duties of the said office which may be provided by law, shall receive such compensation as shall be fixed by the General Assembly.
Section 20: (a) In case the person elected Governor shall die or become disqualified before the commencement of his term of office, or shall refuse to take the same, or in case of the removal of the Governor from office, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Lieutenant-Governor; and in case of removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, the Secretary of State, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Attorney General, or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the President pro tempore of the Senate or if there be none, or in case of his removal, death, resignation, or inability, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall act as Governor until the disability of the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor is removed, or a Governor shall be duly elected and qualified.
The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply only to such persons as are eligible to the office of Governor under this Constitution at the time the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall devolve upon them respectively. Whenever the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall devolve upon the Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, or Attorney General, his office shall become vacant; and whenever the powers and duties of the office of Governor shall devolve upon the President pro tempore of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, his seat as a member of the General Assembly shall become vacant; and any such vacancy shall be filled as directed by this Constitution; provided, however, that such vacancy shall not be created in case either of the said persons shall be acting as Governor during a temporary disability of the Governor. (b) Whenever the Governor transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Lieutenant-Governor as Acting Governor. Whenever the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court, the President of the Medical Society of Delaware and the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, acting unanimously, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, their written declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office because of mental or physical disability, the Lieutenant-Governor shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting Governor. Thereafter, when the Governor transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no disability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware, the President of the Medical Society of Delaware and the Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, acting unanimously, transmit within five days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office because of mental or physical disability. Thereupon the General Assembly shall decide the issue, assembling within seventy-two hours for that purpose if not then in session. If the General Assembly within ten days after receipt of the latter written declaration determines by two-thirds vote of all the members elected to each house that the Governor is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office because of mental or physical disability, the Lieutenant-Governor shall continue to discharge same as Acting Governor; otherwise, the Governor shall resume the powers and duties of his office.
Section 2: There shall be five Justices of the Supreme Court who shall be citizens of the State and learned in the law. One of them shall be the Chief Justice who shall be designated as such by his appointment and who when present shall preside at all sittings of the Court. In the absence of the Chief Justice the Justice present who is senior in length of service shall preside. If it is otherwise impossible to determine seniority among the Justices, they shall determine it by lot and certify accordingly to the Governor.
There shall be seven other State Judges who shall be citizens of the State and learned in the law. One of them shall be Chancellor, one of them Vice-Chancellor, one of them President Judge of the Superior Court and of the Orphans' Court, and the remainder of them Associate Judges of the Superior Court and of the Orphans' Court. Three of said Associate Judges shall be Resident Associate Judges and one of them shall after appointment reside in each county of the State. There shall also be such number of additional Vice-Chancellors and Associate Judges as may hereinafter be provided for by Act of the General Assembly. Each of such Vice-Chancellors and Associate Judges shall be citizens of the State and learned in the law. If it is otherwise impossible to determine seniority of service among the Vice-Chancellors or among the said Associate Judges, they shall determine it by lot respectively and certify accordingly to the Governor. The tenure and status of the Justices of the Supreme Court and State Judges as shall have been appointed as provided for by the Constitution or by Act of the General Assembly prior to the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective shall in no wise be affected. A former State Judge or a former Justice of the Supreme Court, who is retired and is receiving a state judicial pension and who assents to active judicial duty and who is not engaged in the practice of law, upon designation of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, shall be authorized to sit temporarily in the court from which he retired or in any other court to which he could be designated under the Constitution and statues of the State if he still held the judicial position from which he retired. Any person so designated shall receive compensation as the General Assembly shall provide. Nothing herein shall authorize the designation of any former State Judge or a former Justice of the Supreme Court to sit in the Supreme Court except temporarily to fill up the number of that Court to the required quorum. The term "State Judge" as used in this paragraph means a Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor of the Chancery Court or a President Judge or Associate Judge of the Superior Court.
Section 3: The Justices of the Supreme Court, the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor or Vice-Chancellors, and the President Judge and Associate Judges of the Superior Court shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of a majority of all the members elected to the Senate, for the term of twelve years each, and the persons so appointed shall enter upon the discharge of the duties of their respective offices upon taking the oath of office prescribed by this Constitution. The Governor shall submit his appointment within sixty (60) days after the occurrence of a vacancy however caused. If a vacancy shall occur, by expiration of term or otherwise, at a time when the Senate shall not be in session, the Governor shall within (60) days after the happening of any such vacancy convene the Senate for the purpose of confirming his appointment to fill said vacancy and the transaction of such other executive business as may come before it. Such vacancy shall be filled as aforesaid for the full term. Notwithstanding a vacancy, whether occurring when the Senate is or is not in session, an incumbent whose term has expired shall hold over in office until the incumbent, or a new appointee, is confirmed and takes the oath of office for the next term, but in no event shall an incumbent whose term has expired hold over in office for more than sixty (60) days after the expiration of the term. In all instances the term of a new or reappointed Justice of the Supreme Court, Chancellor or Vice-Chancellor, President Judge or Associate Judge of the Superior Court shall begin on the date that the oath of office is taken, thus qualifying the individual to serve, but the appointment shall be forfeit if such oath is not taken within thirty (30) days of confirmation. (6-28-83)
Appointments to the offices of the State Judiciary shall at all times be subject to all of the following limitations: First, three of the five Justices of the Supreme Court in office at the same time, shall be of one major political party, and two of said Justices shall be of the other major political party. Second, at any time when the total number of Judges of the Superior Court and Orphans' Court shall be an even number not more than one-half of the members of all such offices shall be of the same political party; and at any time when the number of such offices shall be an odd number, then not more than a bare majority of the members of all such offices shall be of the same major political party, the remaining members of such offices shall be of the other major political party. Third, at any time when the total number of the offices of the Justices of the Supreme Court, the Judges of the Superior Court and Orphans' Court, the Chancellor and all the Vice-Chancellors shall be an even number, not more than one-half of the members of all such offices shall be of the same major political party; and at any time when the total number of such offices shall be an odd number, then not more than a bare majority of the members of all such offices shall be of the same major political party; the remaining members of the Courts above enumerated shall be of the other major political party. Fourth, before sending the name of any person to the Senate for confirmation as the appointment of the Governor to a vacancy in any Judicial Office as aforesaid, the Governor shall, not less than ten (10) days before sending the name of such person to the Senate for confirmation, address a public letter to the President of the Senate informing him that he intends to submit to the Senate for confirmation as an appointment to such vacancy the name of the person he intends to appoint.
Section 5: The President Judge of the Superior Court and the Orphans' Court and the Associate Judges thereof shall compose the Superior Court and the Orphans' Court, as hereinafter prescribed. In each of the said courts the President Judge when present shall preside, and in his absence the senior Associate Judge present shall preside.
One judge shall constitute a quorum of the said courts, respectively, except in the Superior Court sitting to try cases of prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of this Constitution, when two Judges shall constitute a quorum. One Judge may open and adjourn any of said courts.
Section 11: The Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction as follows:
(1) (a) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in civil causes and to determine finally all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final judgments and other proceedings of said Superior Court in civil causes: Provided that on appeal from a verdict of a jury, the findings of the jury, if supported by evidence, shall be conclusive. (1) (b) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in criminal causes, upon application of the accused in all cases in which the sentence shall be death, imprisonment exceeding one month, or fine exceeding One Hundred Dollars, and in such other cases as shall be provided by law; and to determine finally all matters of appeal on the judgments and proceedings of said Superior Court in criminal causes: Provided, however, that appeals from the Superior Court in cases of prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of this Constitution shall be governed by the provisions of that Section. (2) Wherever in this Constitution reference is made to a writ of error or a proceeding in error to the Superior Court, such reference shall be construed as referring to the appeal provided for in Section (1) (a) and Section (1) (b) of this Article. (3) To receive appeals from the Superior Court in cases of prosecution under Section 8 of Article V of this Constitution and to determine finally all matters of appeal in such cases. (4) To receive appeals from the Court of Chancery and to determine finally all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final decrees and other proceedings in chancery. (5) To receive appeals from the Orphans' Court and to determine finally all matters of appeal in the interlocutory or final decrees and judgments and other proceedings in the Orphans' Court. (6) To issue writs of prohibition, quo warranto, certiorari and mandamus to the Superior Court, the Court of Chancery and the Orphans' court, or any of the Judges of the said courts and also to any inferior court or courts established or to be established by law and to any of the Judges thereof and to issue all orders, rules and processes proper to give effect to the same. The General Assembly shall have power to provide by law in what manner the jurisdiction and power hereby conferred may be exercised in vacation and whether by one or more Justices of the Supreme Court. (7) To issue such temporary writs or orders in causes pending on appeal, or on writ of error, as may be necessary to protect the rights of parties and any Justice of the Supreme Court may exercise this power when the court is not in session. (8) To exercise such other jurisdiction by way of appeal, writ of error or of certiorari as the General Assembly may from time to time confer upon it. (9) To hear and determine questions of law certified to it by other Delaware courts, the Supreme Court of the United States, a Court of Appeals of the United States, a United States District Court, or the highest appellate court of any other state, where it appears to the Supreme Court that there are important and urgent reasons for an immediate determination of such questions by it. The Supreme Court may, by rules, define generally the conditions under which questions may be certified to it and prescribe methods of certification. (1-28-93)
Section 13: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or in case of his absence from the State, disqualification, incapacity, or if there be a vacancy in that office, the next qualified and available Justice who by seniority is next in rank to the Chief Justice shall be administrative head of all the courts in the State, and shall have general administrative and supervisory powers over all the courts. Such powers shall include but shall not be limited to the following:
(l) Upon the approval of a majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court to adopt rules for the administration of justice and the conduct of the business of any or all the courts in this State: Provided, however, that any other of the courts in this State may from time to time, subject to the exercise of the power in this paragraph (l) conferred upon the Justices of the Supreme Court, adopt rules of pleading practice and procedure applicable to such Court. (2) Upon written request made by the Chancellor, or in his absence or incapacity by the next qualified and available Vice-Chancellor who by seniority is next in rank to the Chancellor, or upon the written request made by the President Judge of the Superior Court, or in his absence or incapacity by the next qualified and available Associate Judge who by seniority is next in rank to the President Judge, to designate one or more of the State Judges (including the Justices of the Supreme Court) to sit in the Court of Chancery or the Superior Court, as the case may be, and to hear and decide such causes in such Court and for such period of time as shall be designated. It shall be the duty of the State Judge so designated to serve according to such designation as a Judge of the Court designated. The provisions of this paragraph shall not be deemed to limit in any manner the powers conferred upon the judges of the Superior Court under Section l4 of this Article. (1/13/94)
Section 14: The President Judge of the Superior Court and of the Orphans' Court or any associate Judge shall have power, in the absence of the Chancellor and all the Vice-Chancellors from the county where any suit in
equity may be instituted or during the temporary disability of the Chancellor and all the Vice-Chancellors, to grant restraining orders, and the said President Judge or any Associate Judge shall have power, during the absence of the chancellor and all the Vice-Chancellors from the State or his and their temporary disability, to grant preliminary injunctions pursuant to the rules and practice of the Court of Chancery; provided that nothing herein contained shall be construed to confer general jurisdiction over the case.
Section 25: Time for writ of error on confession of judgement; exceptions.
Repealed, 51, Del. Laws, c. 78.
Section 28: The General Assembly may by law give to any inferior courts by it established or to be established, or to one or more Justices of the Peace, jurisdiction of the criminal matters following, that is to say--assaults and batteries, carrying concealed a deadly weapon disturbing meetings held for the purpose of religious worship, nuisances, and such other misdemeanors as the General Assembly may from time to time, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House, prescribe.
The General Assembly may by law regulate this jurisdiction, and provide that the proceedings shall be with or without indictment by grand jury, or trial by petit jury, and may grant or deny the privilege of appeal to the Superior Court; provided, however, that there shall be an appeal to this Superior Court in all cases in which the sentence shall be imprisonment exceeding one (1) month, or a fine exceeding One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
Section 32: An executor or administrator shall file every account with the Register of Wills for the County, who shall, as soon as conveniently may be, carefully examine the particulars with the proofs thereof, in the presence of such executor or administrator, and shall adjust and settle the same according to the right of the matter and the law of the land; which account so settled shall remain in his office for inspection; and the executor, or administrator, shall within three (3) months after such settlement give notice in writing to all persons entitled to shares of the estate, or to their guardians, respectively, if residing within the State, that the account is lodged in the said office for inspection.
Exceptions may be made by persons concerned to both sides of every such account, either denying the justice of the allowances made to the accountant or alleging further charges against him; and the exceptions shall be heard in the Orphans' Court for the county; and thereupon the account shall be adjusted and settled according to the right of the matter and the law of the land. The General Assembly shall have the power to transfer to the Orphans' Court all or part of the jurisdiction by this Constitution vested in the Register of Wills and to vest in the Orphans' Court all or a part of such jurisdiction and to provide for appeals from that Court exercising such jurisdiction.
Section 34: The Chancellor, Chief Justice and Associate Judges in office at and immediately before the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective shall hold their respective offices until the expiration of their terms respectively and shall receive the compensation provided by law. They shall, however, be hereafter designated as follows:
The Chancellor shall continue to be designated as Chancellor; The Chief Justice shall hereafter be designated as President Judge of the Superior Court and of the Orphans' Court; The Associate Judges shall hereafter be designated as Associate Judges of the Superior Court and of the Orphans' Court. The Vice-Chancellor in office at and immediately before the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective shall hold his office until the expiration of the period of twelve years from the date of the commission for the office of Vice-Chancellor held by him at the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective and shall receive the compensation provided by law. He shall continue to be designated as Vice-Chancellor.
Section 35: All writs of error and appeals and proceedings pending, at the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective, in the Supreme Court as heretofore constituted shall be proceeded within the Supreme Court hereby established, and all the books, records and papers of the said Supreme Court as heretofore constituted shall be the books, records and papers of the Supreme Court hereby established.
All suits, proceedings and matters pending, at the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective, in the Superior Court as heretofore constituted shall be proceeded within the Superior Court hereby established and all the books, records and papers of the said Superior Court as heretofore constituted shall be the books, records and papers of the Superior Court hereby established. All indictments, proceedings and matters of a criminal nature pending in the former Court of General Sessions and in the former Court of Oyer and Terminer, at the time this amended Article IV of this Constitution becomes effective, and all books, records and papers of said former Court of General Sessions and former Court of Oyer and Terminer shall be transferred to the Superior Court hereby established, and the said indictments, proceedings and matters pending shall be proceeded with to final judgment and determination in the said Superior Court hereby established. The Court of Chancery is not affected by this amended Article IV of this Constitution otherwise than by the provisions with respect to a Vice-Chancellor or Vice-Chancellors.
Section 37: A Court on the Judiciary is hereby created consisting of the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, the Chancellor, and the President Judge of the Superior Court.
Any judicial officer appointed by the Governor may be censured or removed or retired by the Court on the Judiciary as herein provided. A judicial officer may be censured or removed by virtue of this section for willful misconduct in office, willful and persistent failure to perform his duties, the commission after appointment of an offense involving moral turpitude, or other persistent misconduct in violation of the Canons of Judicial Ethics as adopted by the Delaware Supreme Court from time to time. A judicial officer may be retired by virtue of this section for permanent mental or physical disability interfering with the proper performance of the duties of his office. No judicial officer shall be censured or removed or retired under this section unless he has been served with a written statement of the charges against him, or of the grounds of his retirement, and shall have had an opportunity to be heard in accordance with due process of law. The affirmative concurrence of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Court on the Judiciary shall be necessary for the censure or removal or retirement of a judicial officer. The Court on the Judiciary shall be convened for appropriate action upon the order of the Chief Justice, or upon the order of any other three members of the court on the Judiciary. All hearings and other proceedings of the Court on the Judiciary shall be private, and all records except a final order of removal or retirement shall be confidential, unless the judicial officer involved shall otherwise request. Upon an order of removal, the judicial officer shall thereby be removed from office, all of his authority, rights and privileges as a judicial officer shall cease from the date of the order, and a vacancy shall be deemed to exist as of that date. Upon an order of retirement, the judicial officer shall thereby be retired with such rights and privileges as may be provided by law for the disability retirement of a judicial officer, and a vacancy shall be deemed to exist as of the date of retirement. In the absence or disqualification of a member of the Court on the Judiciary, the Chief Justice, or in his absence or disqualification the Senior Associate Justice, shall appoint a substitute member pro tempore. The Court on the Judiciary shall have: (a) the power to summon witnesses to appear and testify under oath and to compel the production of books, papers and documents, and (b) the power to adopt rules establishing procedures for the investigation and trial of a judicial officer hereunder.
Section 3: No person who shall receive or accept, or offer to receive or accept, or shall pay, transfer, or deliver, or offer or promise to pay, transfer or deliver, or shall contribute, or offer or promise to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compensation, inducement or reward for the registering or abstaining from registering of any one qualified to register, or for the giving or withholding, or in any manner influencing the giving or withholding, a vote at any general or special or muncipal election in this State, shall vote at such election; and upon challenge for any of said causes the person so challenged before the officers authorized for that purpose shall receive his vote, shall swear or affirm before such officers that he has not received or accepted, or offered to receive or accept, or paid, transferred or delivered, or offered or promised to pay, transfer or deliver, or contributed, or offered or promised to contribute to another, to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing as a compensation, inducement or reward for the registering or abstaining from registering of any one qualified to register, or for the giving or withholding, or in any manner influencing the giving or withholding, a vote at such election.
Such oath or affirmation shall be conclusive evidence to the election officers of the truth of such oath or affirmation; but if any such oath or affirmation shall be false, the person making the same shall be guilty of perjury, and no conviction thereof shall bar any prosecution under Section 8 of this Article.
Section 4: The General Assembly shall enact uniform laws for the registration of voters in this State entitled to vote under this Article, which registration shall be conclusive evidence to the election officers of the right of every person so registered to vote at any General Election while his or her name shall remain on the list of registered voters, and who is not at the time disqualified under the provisions of Section 3 of this Article; and no person shall vote at such General Election whose name does not at that time appear in said list of registered voters.
There shall be at least two registration days in a period commencing not more than one hundred and twenty days, nor less than sixty days before, and ending not more than twenty days, nor less than ten days before, each General Election, on which registration days persons whose names are not on the list of registered voters established by law for such election, may apply for registration, and on which registration days applications may be made to strike from the said registration lists names of persons on said list who are not eligible to vote at such election; provided, however, that such registration may be corrected as hereinafter provided at any time prior to the day of holding the election. From the decision of the registration officers granting or refusing registration, or striking or refusing to strike a name or names from the registration list, any person interested, or any registration officer, may appeal to the resident Associate Judge of the County, or in case of his disability or absence from the County, to any Judge entitled to sit in the Supreme Court, whose determination shall be final; and he shall have power to order any name improperly omitted from the said registry to be placed thereon, and any name improperly appearing on the said registry to be stricken therefrom, and any name improperly appearing on the said registry, in any manner incorrect, to be corrected, and to make and enforce all necessary orders in the premises for the correction of the said registry. Registration shall be a prerequisite for voting only at general elections, at which Representatives to the General Assembly shall be chosen, unless the General Assembly shall otherwise provide by law. The existing laws in reference to the registration of voters, so far as consistent with the provision to this Article, shall continue in force until the General Assembly shall otherwise provide.
Section 6: The presiding election officer of each hundred or election district, on the day next after the general election, shall deliver one of the certificates of the election, made and certified as required by law, together with the ballot box or ballot boxes, containing the ballots, and other papers required by law to be placed therein, to the Prothonotary of the Superior Court of the county, who shall at twelve o'clock noon on the second day after the election present the same to the said Court, and the election officer or officers having charge of any other certificate or certificates of the election shall at the same time present the same to the said Court, and the said Court shall at the same time convene for the performance of the duties hereby imposed upon it; and thereupon the said Court, with the aid of such of its officers and such sworn assistance as it shall appoint, shall publicly ascertain the state of the election throughout the county, by calculating the aggregate amount of all the votes for each office that shall be given in all the hundreds and election districts of the county for every person voted for such office.
In case the certificates of election of any Hundred or Election District shall not be produced, or in case the certificates produced do not agree, or in case of complaint under oath of fraud or mistake in any such certificate, or in case fraud or mistake is apparent on the face of any such certificate, the Court shall have power to issue summary process against the election officers or any other persons to bring them forthwith into Court with the election papers in their possession or control, and to open the ballot boxes and take therefrom any paper contained therein, and to make a recount of the ballots contained therein, and to correct any fraud or mistake in any certificate or paper relating to such election. The said Court shall have all the other jurisdiction and powers now vested by law in the boards of canvass, and such other powers as shall be provided by law. After the state of the election shall have been ascertained as aforesaid, the said Court shall make certificates thereof, under the seal of said Court in the form required by law, and transmit, deliver and lodge the same as required by this Constitution or by law, and deliver the ballot boxes to the sheriff of the county, to be by him kept and delivered as required by law. No act or determination of the Court in the discharge of the duties imposed upon it by this Section shall be conclusive in the trial of any contested election. For the purposes of this Section the Superior Court shall consist in New Castle County of the President Judge and resident Associate Judge; in Kent County of the resident Associate Judge and an Associate Judge designated by the President Judge; and in Sussex County of the resident Associate Judge and an Associate Judge designated by the President Judge. (6/28/91) Two shall constitute a quorum. The Governor shall have power to commission a Judge for the purpose of constituting a quorum when by reason of legal exception to any Judge, or for any other cause, a quorum could not otherwise be had.
Section 1: The House of Representatives shall have the sole power of impeaching; but two-thirds of all the members must concur in an impeachment. All impeachments shall be tried by the Senate, and when sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice according to the evidence. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Senators.
On the trial of an impeachment against the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, the Chief Justice, or, in case of his absence or disability, the Chancellor shall preside; and on the trial of all other impeachments the President of the Senate shall preside.
Section 1: The Governor shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures and to grant reprieves, commutations of sentence and pardons, except in cases of impeachment; but no pardon, or reprieve for more than six months, shall be granted, nor sentence commuted, except upon the recommendation in writing of a majority of the Board of Pardons after full hearing; and such recommendation, with the reasons therefore at length, shall be filed and recorded in the office of the Secretary of State, who shall forthwith notify the Governor thereof.
He shall fully set forth in writing the grounds of all reprieves, pardons and remissions, to be entered in the register of his official acts and laid before the General Assembly at its next session.
Section 1: All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax, except as otherwise permitted herein, and shall be levied and collected under general laws passed by the General Assembly. County Councils of New Castle and Sussex counties and the Levy Court of Kent County are hereby authorized to exempt from county taxation such property in their respective counties as in their opinion will best promote the public welfare. The county property tax exemption power created by this section shall be exclusive as to such property as is located within the respective counties with respect to real property located within the boundaries of any incorporated municipality; the authority to exempt such property from municipal property tax shall be exercised by the respective incorporated municipality; then in the opinion of the said municipality it will best promote the public welfare.
The legislature shall enact laws to provide that the value of land which is determined by the assessing officer of the taxing jurisdiction to be actively devoted to agriculture use and to have been so devoted for at least the two successive years immediately preceding the tax year in issue, shall, for local tax purposes, on application of the owner, be that value which such land has for agricultural use. Any such laws shall provide that when land which has been valued in this manner for local tax purposes is applied to a use other than for agriculture, it shall be subject to additional taxes in an amount equal to the difference, if any, between the taxes paid or payable on the basis of the valuation and the assessment authorized hereunder and the taxes that would have been paid or payable had the land been valued and assessed as otherwise provided in this Constitution, in the current year and in such of the tax years immediately preceding, not less than two such years in which the land was valued as herein authorized. Such laws shall also provide for the assessment and collection of any additional taxes levied thereupon and shall include such other provisions as shall be necessary to carry out the provisions of this amendment.
Section 6: (a) No money shall be drawn from the treasury but pursuant to an appropriation made by Act of the General Assembly; provided, however, that the compensation of the members of the General Assembly and all expenses connected with the session thereof may be paid out of the treasury pursuant to resolution in that behalf; a regular account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published annually.
(b) No appropriation, supplemental appropriation, or Budget Act shall cause the aggregate State general fund appropriations enacted for any given fiscal year to exceed 98 percent of the estimated State general fund revenue for such fiscal year from all sources, including estimated unencumbered funds remaining at the end of the previous fiscal year. An Act approved pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 of this Article shall not be considered an appropriation for the purpose of this Section. Estimated unencumbered funds are calculated by taking the estimated general fund cash balance at the end of the fiscal year less estimated revenue anticipation bonds or notes, estimated encumbrances, estimated continuing appropriations and the amount of the Budget Reserve Account as established in subsection (d) of this Section at the end of said fiscal year. The amount of said revenue estimate and estimated unencumbered funds remaining shall be determined by the most recent Joint Resolution approved from time to time by a majority of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly and signed by the Governor. (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this Section, any portion of the amount between 98 and 100 percent of the estimated State general fund revenue for any fiscal year as estimated in accordance with subsection (b) of this Section may be appropriated in any given fiscal year in the event of emergencies involving the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of the State of Delaware, such appropriations to be approved by three-fifths of the members elected to each House of the General Assembly. (d) There is hereby established a Budget Reserve Account within the General Fund. Within forty-five (45) days after the end of any fiscal year, the excess of any unencumbered funds remaining from the said fiscal year shall be paid into the Budget Reserve Account, provided, however, that no such payment will be made which would increase the total of the Budget Reserve Account to more than five percent (5%) of only the estimated State General Fund Revenues as set by the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section. The excess of any unencumbered funds shall be determined by subtracting from the actual unencumbered funds at the end of any fiscal year an amount which together with the latest estimated revenues is necessary to fund the ensuing fiscal year's General Fund Budget including the required estimated General fund supplemental and automatic appropriations for said ensuing fiscal year less estimated reversions. The General Assembly by a three-fifths vote of the members elected to each House, may appropriate from the Budget Reserve Account such additional sums as may be necessary to fund any unanticipated deficit in any given fiscal year or to provide funds required as a result of any revenue reduction enacted by the General Assembly. (Paragraphs (b), (c), (d) added in 1980).
Section 9: Retroactive increase of taxation of personal income.
Any law which shall have the effect of increasing the rates of taxation on personal income for any year or part thereof prior to the date of the enactment thereof, of for any year or years prior to the year in which the law is enacted, shall be void.
Section 10: Limitation on increase of rate of taxes and license fees; exception to meet obligation under faith and credit pledge; allocation of public moneys to meet such obligation if revenues are not sufficient to meet such pledge.
(a) The effective rate of any tax levied or license fee imposed by the State may not be increased except pursuant to an Act of the General Assembly adopted with the concurrence of three-fifths of all members of each House. (b) Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year of the State, the General Assembly shall appropriate revenues of the State to pay interest on its debt to which it has pledged its faith and credit and which interest is payable in the year for which such appropriation is made and to pay the principal of such debt, payable in such year, whether at maturity or otherwise. To the extent that insufficient revenues of the State are available to pay principal of and interest on such debt when due and payable, the first public moneys of the State thereafter received shall be set aside and applied to the payment of the principal of and interest of such debt. To make up for such insufficient revenues, the General Assembly may increase the rate of taxes and fees without regard to the limitation of Paragraph (a) hereof after the failure to pay when due the principal of and interest on such debt. (Section 10 added in 1980)
Section 11: Imposition or levy of new taxes or license fee.
(a) No tax or license fee may be imposed or levied except pursuant to an act of the General Assembly adopted with the concurrence of three-fifths of all members of each House. (b) Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year of the State, the General Assembly shall appropriate revenues of the State to pay interest on its debt to which it has pledged its faith and credit and which interest is payable in the year for which such appropriation is made and to pay the principal of such debt, payable in such year, whether at maturity or otherwise. To the extent that insufficient revenues of the State are available to pay principal of and interest on such debt when due and payable, the first public moneys of the State thereafter received shall be set aside and applied to the payment of the principal of and interest on such debt. To make up for such insufficient revenues, the General Assembly may increase the rate of taxes and fees without regard to the limitations of Paragraph (a) hereof after the failure to pay when due the principal of and interest on such debt. (5-28-81)
Section l: Form of oath for members of General Assembly and public officers.
Members of the General Assembly and all public officers executive and judicial, except such inferior officers as shall be by law exempted, shall, before they enter upon the duties of their respected offices, take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation: "I, ____ (name), ______________.do proudly swear ( or affirm) to carry out the responsibilities of the office of __(name of office) _____________ to the best of my ability, freely acknowledging that the powers of this office flow from the people I am privileged to represent. I further swear (or affirm) always to place the public interest above any special or personal interests, and to respect the right of future generations to share the rich historic and natural heritage of Delaware. In doing so I will always uphold and defend the Constitutions of my Country and my State, so help me God." No other oath, declaration or test shall be required as a qualification for any office of public trust.
Section 2: The General Assembly by a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to each House may from time to time provide for the submission to the qualified electors of the State at the general election next thereafter the question, "Shall there be a Convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?"; and upon such submission, if a majority of those voting on said question shall decide in favor of a Convention for such purpose, the General Assembly at its next session shall provide for the election of delegates to such convention at the next general election.
Such Convention shall be composed of forty-one delegates, one of whom shall be chosen from each Representative District by the qualified electors thereof, and two of whom shall be chosen from New Castle County, two from Kent County and two from Sussex County by the qualified electors thereof respectively. The delegates so chosen shall convene at the Capital of the State on the first Tuesday in September next after their election. Every delegate shall receive for his services such compensation as shall be provided by law. A majority of the Convention shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Convention shall have power to appoint such officers, employees and assistants as it may deem necessary, and fix their compensation, and provide for the printing of its documents, journals, debates and proceedings. The Convention shall determine the rules of its proceedings, and be the judge of the elections, returns and qualification of its members. Whenever there shall be a vacancy in the office of delegate from any district or county by reason of failure to elect, ineligibility, death, resignation or otherwise, a writ of election to fill such vacancy shall be issued by the Governor, and such vacancy shall be filled by the qualified electors of such district or county.
Section 3: The offices of the present Senators and Representatives shall not be vacated or otherwise affected by this amended Constitution, except that the Senators whose terms do not expire on the day of the next general election shall thereafter represent the districts in which they now reside until the end of the terms for which they were elected.
At the general election to be held in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Eight, there shall be elected from each of the even numbered Senatorial Districts in the State, except District Number Two in New Castle County, District Number Four in Kent County, and District Number Two in Sussex County, a Senator for the term of two years, and from each of the odd numbered Senatorial Districts in the State a Senator for the term of four years. And thereafter, as the said terms shall from time to time expire, a Senator shall be elected from each of the said Senatorial Districts for the full term of four years. At the general election to be held in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Eight, there shall be elected in each Representative District in the State one Representative for the term of two years.
Section 9: All the courts of justice now existing shall continue with their present jurisdiction, and the Chancellor and judges shall continue in office until the tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven; upon which day the said courts shall be abolished, and the offices of the said Chancellor and judges shall expire.
All writs of error, and appeals and proceedings which, on the said Tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven shall be depending in the Court of Errors and Appeals, and all the books, records and papers of said court, shall be transferred to the Supreme Court established by this amended Constitution; and the said writs of error appeals and proceedings shall be proceeded in the said Supreme Court to final judgment, decree or other determination. All suits, proceedings, and matters which, on the said Tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-seven, shall be depending in the Superior Court, and all books, records and papers of the said court, shall be transferred to the Superior Court established by this amended Constitution, and the said suits, proceedings and matters shall be proceeded in to final judgment, or determination, in the said Superior Court established by this amended Constitution. All indictments, proceedings and matters which, on the said Tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven, shall be depending in the Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery shall be transferred to and proceeded in to final judgment and determination in the Court of General Sessions established by this amended Constitution, or be otherwise disposed of by the Court of General Sessions, and all books, records and papers of said Court of General Sessions of the Peace and Jail Delivery shall be transferred to the said Court of General Sessions. All indictments, proceedings and matters which, on the said Tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven, shall be depending in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, shall be transferred to and proceeded in to final judgment and determination in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, established by this amended Constitution, and all books, records and papers of said Court of Oyer and Terminer shall be transferred to said Court of Oyer and Terminer established by this amended Constitution. All suits, proceedings and matters which, on the said Tenth day of June in the year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven, shall be depending in the Court of Chancery, or in the Orphans' Court, and all records, books and papers of said courts respectively, shall be transferred to Court of Chancery or Orphans' Court respectively, established by this amended Constitution; and the suits, proceedings and matters, shall be proceeded in to final decree, order or other determination.
Section l9: The General Assembly, as soon as conveniently may be after this Constitution shall take effect, shall enact all laws necessary or proper for carrying out the provisions thereof.
DONE IN CONVENTION, the Fourth day of June in the year of our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the One Hundred and Twenty-First. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, we have hereunto subscribed our names. John Biggs, President. Edward G. Bradford, Charles B. Evans, George H. Murray, Martin B. Burris, James B. Gilchrist, William P. Orr, Jr., William A. Cannon, Robert G. Harman, Nathan Pratt, Paris T. Carlisle, Jr., Edward D. Hearne, Charles F. Richards, Wilson T. Cavender, Andrew J. Horsey, Lowder L. Sapp, David S. Clark, John W. Hering, William Saulsbury, J. Wilkins Cooch, Andrew L. Johnson, William T. Smithers, Ezekiel W. Cooper, Woodburn Martin, W. C. Spruance, Robert W. Dasey, Elias N. Moore, Isaac K. Wright, Joshua A. Ellegood. Attest: Charles R. Jones, Secretary of C. C. N. B. - John P. Donahoe, a member of the Convention from New Castle County, refused to sign.
Source: Imported from all_50_state_constitutions_FINAL.md
Last Updated: June 28, 2026
Overview
The Delaware Constitution of 1897 serves as the fundamental law of the state, establishing the framework for government and protecting the rights of its citizens.
History
Delaware was admitted to the Union on December 7, 1787.
The current constitution was adopted in 1897. State constitutions are often amended more frequently than the federal Constitution, reflecting changing needs and values of state residents.
Structure of Government
Legislative
State Legislature
Executive
Governor & Cabinet
Judicial
State Courts
Bill of Rights
Like the U.S. Constitution, the Delaware Constitution includes protections for individual rights and liberties. State constitutions often provide broader protections than the federal Constitution, serving as a "floor" rather than a "ceiling" for rights.