Delaware Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Delaware, with full citations and the original source on every page.
No Delaware opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
Can a Delaware citizen FOIA a 1980s mayor's original candidacy filings, and does the agency have to keep records forever?
No. FOIA does not require a Delaware public body to produce records that do not exist. The Delaware Public Archives' retention schedule for candidate filings is 22 months, after which the records…
Does a typo in a Delaware agency's FOIA response letter prove the agency is hiding records?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Department of Elections did not violate FOIA when it inadvertently dated a response 'March 22, 2019' instead of April 23. DOE explained it reuses prior letters as…
Can I use Delaware FOIA to get a city employee's personnel file, complaints, and disciplinary records?
No. The Delaware AG determined the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA by withholding a City employee's personnel file, including complaints and disciplinary records, under the personnel-file…
What did the Delaware AG decide when Wilmington said it had no records for two FOIA request items?
The AG found no FOIA violation after accepting Wilmington's representations that no records responded to the second and third items and that its copy of the request and envelope was unredacted. It…
What happens when Delaware State Police cannot show it responded on time to a FOIA request for a crime report?
The AG found State Police could not demonstrate a timely response. Because its response to Clouser’s petition supplied its FOIA denial, the AG recommended no additional steps and urged better…
Can a Delaware journalist get a list of who has filed waste-fraud-and-abuse complaints with the State Auditor of Accounts, including the agency named and the reason?
No. The Auditor of Accounts' Hotline Log is an investigatory file 'compiled for civil or criminal law-enforcement purposes' under 29 Del. C. § 10002(l)(3), even though AOA is not itself a police…
Did Delaware's Auditor of Accounts violate FOIA when a requester said its timekeeping policy was missing from the response?
The AG found no violation on this record. The Auditor of Accounts' counsel said it had mailed the policy with its original response, attached the policy again for the petition, and identified it as…
Can a Delaware agency demand prepayment for a $351 FOIA fee estimate before turning over a single page?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled that the Office of Defense Services lawfully required prepayment of its $351.74 cost estimate before producing records. Section 10003(m)(5) expressly allows public bodies…
Did Delaware's insurance department violate FOIA by asking for clarification after sending a requester copies of his date-stamped filing and envelope?
No. DOI represented that it had sent copies of the date-stamped filing and envelope, and supplied copies with its response to the AG. The AG also found that DOI could seek clarification because the…
Can a Delaware FOIA requester obtain public-health investigation records about an outbreak at an assisted-living facility?
The AG found no FOIA violation on this record. DHSS said its records were protected by medical-file and statutory privacy exemptions, and that further redaction would leave meaningless documents.…
Can a Delaware city discuss a possible property sale in executive session, then publicly vote on putting the property on the market?
On this record, yes. The City said its public vote would concern putting property on the market, not completing a sale. The AG found the preliminary executive-session purpose proper and the…
Must a Delaware agency explain redactions when it responds to a FOIA request with records?
Yes. The AG found that the Department of Agriculture failed to give reasons for redacting records in its original FOIA response, as § 10003(h)(2) requires. It later supplied the reasons, so the AG…
Can DNREC withhold permit files under FOIA because two private property owners might sue each other over a boundary dispute?
No. DNREC violated FOIA by withholding bulkhead permit application files under the potential litigation exemption when the only foreseeable lawsuit was between two private neighbors over a boundary…
If a Delaware public body finally produces records mid-petition, is my FOIA delay complaint dead?
In this case, yes. The City completed its response to the narrowed request while the petition was pending, so the AG found Mueller’s timeliness claim moot. The AG suggested a specific new request…
Can the Delaware AG order an Auditor to produce school district audit reports that the requester believes should exist under another statute?
No. Delaware FOIA limits the AG's petition jurisdiction to deciding whether FOIA was violated. The AG cannot order the Auditor of Accounts to produce audit reports the requester believes should…
Can a journalist get a roster of Delaware pre-trial detainees with names, charges, ICE holds, and bond amounts under FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Department of Correction properly denied a journalist's FOIA request for a roster of pre-trial detainees because 11 Del. C. § 4322(a) and § 8513(d) statutorily…
When a Delaware agency finally produces records after a journalist files a FOIA petition for missing the 15-business-day deadline, is the petition moot, and what about new complaints about how the agency searched?
The AG concluded the petition was moot because DOC produced the responsive records before the AG ruled. The AG did find that DOC failed to give a good-faith time estimate within fifteen business…
Could Delaware withhold a video shown at a public licensing hearing based on privacy claims for a deceased inmate and others visible in it?
The AG found no basis for the Department of State to withhold this video under the privacy grounds it asserted. The deceased inmate's family supported release or chose not to object, and the…
Are quality-assurance reports about Delaware prison healthcare contractor Connections CSP available under FOIA, or are they confidential peer-review records?
Confidential. The AG accepted DOC's representation that the Health Services Reports it received from Connections function as peer-review records under 24 Del. C. § 1768 and so are not 'public…
Can a Delaware news outlet obtain crash data from DelDOT's Crash Analysis Reporting System if victim information is anonymized?
No. The AG concluded the CARS data was exempt on two grounds: 21 Del. C. § 313 makes the accident reports DSHS tabulates not open to public inspection (so § 10002(l)(6) removes them from FOIA), and…
When a Delaware city's staff meets with a developer applicant outside of any public meeting, must the city create and produce agendas and minutes for those staff meetings?
No. On the record presented, the AG found neither gathering was a meeting of a public body, so Rehoboth Beach did not have to create agendas or minutes. The two Commissioners alleged to have…
Does Delaware FOIA force an agency to answer my questions or just to produce existing records?
The Delaware AG found Wells's response-delay petition moot after the Auditor of Accounts linked him to a financial report. It did not decide whether the earlier delay violated FOIA and noted that…
When a Delaware mayor asks two commissioners and the town manager during a public meeting to look into a FOIA complaint, does that trigger a new round of open-meeting requirements?
No. The AG found no FOIA violation: there was no evidence the individuals had met or were about to meet, a preliminary research request need not be on the meeting agenda, and the Town confirmed the…
Does a Delaware FOIA response-delay petition become moot if the agency answers the request after the petition is filed?
The Delaware AG found the response-delay petition moot because DSHS gave a final answer the same day McKendell petitioned. DSHS withheld the requested police report and provided other records as a…
Can a non-Delaware resident obtain presentence investigation reports of executed Delaware inmates through a FOIA request?
No. The AG concluded that presentence investigation reports were protected on two independent grounds: as investigatory files under § 10002(l)(3), where privacy is not a factor, and as records that…
When a Delaware city goes into executive session to discuss its draft response to a citizen's pending FOIA petition, which executive session exemption actually applies?
The AG found that the FOIA petition process qualified as pending litigation in these circumstances and that an open discussion of the City's draft response would harm its litigation position. The…
Did Wilmington violate Delaware FOIA by demanding $170 to produce a mayor's appointment calendar?
The Delaware AG concluded that the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA by giving a $170.01 cost estimate for the mayor's appointment calendar. A cost estimate is not a denial of records; the…
Can a Delaware town set a photocopy fee above FOIA's statutory fee schedule, and will the AG review that fee for reasonableness?
The Delaware AG found no FOIA violation in Dewey Beach's adoption of a 25-cent-per-page photocopy fee in its municipal code. The statutory fee schedule is not a cap, and the AG concluded it had no…
Can Delaware DNREC withhold property records under the pending-litigation exemption if the requester might sue their neighbor (not DNREC)?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC violated FOIA. Potential litigation between two neighboring property owners is not the kind of pending-litigation the § 10002(l)(9) exemption was designed to protect.…
What did the Delaware AG review when the Governor's office claimed executive privilege for redacted emails?
The AG found no FOIA violation because the Governor's office submitted an affidavit from counsel who reviewed the redacted records and a detailed explanation of its executive-privilege claim. The…
When can a Delaware town go into closed session to talk about rumored potential lawsuits or personnel matters?
The Delaware AG concluded South Bethany violated FOIA by holding an executive session for one topic based on a rumor of potential litigation, which is not an objective indicator. A second topic…
Can a litigant use Delaware FOIA to get records about an expert witness an agency may use against them?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA when it denied a request for records about Environmental Liability Assessment, LLC (ELA), the third-party consultant DNREC used in 'ability to…
Are a city personnel committee's meetings public under Delaware FOIA, and can a city council go into executive session to discuss a wastewater transfer?
The Delaware AG concluded Rehoboth Beach violated FOIA twice: holding an executive session to discuss an attorney-client privileged memorandum without meeting the litigation-strategy requirements,…
Can Delaware DNREC withhold all records about a master plan when only a small piece of it is involved in pending litigation with the requester?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC violated FOIA by applying the pending-litigation exemption too broadly. While some records pertaining to the easement and the relocated Yorklyn/RR Segment were…
Can a Delaware city council go into executive session to get legal advice about zoning, then come back into open session and vote?
The Delaware AG found that Lewes improperly used an executive session to discuss legal advice about zoning and failed to give adequate notice of an open-session vote. The City did not show that a…
Does a Delaware FOIA request sent to someone other than the listed FOIA Coordinator count as received by the public body?
The Delaware AG found no timing violation after a request sent to a police sergeant reached the listed FOIA Coordinator, who responded within the statutory timeframe. Footnote 6 says a request…
Can a Delaware FOIA requester obtain the agency lawyer's advice about why records were withheld?
The AG upheld DNREC's denial of records seeking its legal reasoning about an earlier FOIA decision, finding attorney-client privilege and work-product protection evident from the request. A separate…
Is a mayor's hand-picked advisory committee on water rates subject to Delaware's open meetings law?
The Delaware AG concluded that the City of Rehoboth Beach's wastewater working group was a public body under FOIA. Because the committee was appointed by the Mayor (a public official) and was…
Why can't I get free copies of Delaware corporate records through a FOIA request to the Department of State?
The Delaware AG concluded that the Department of State did not violate FOIA when it required a requester to pay the statutory $10 per page fee under 6 Del. C. § 18-1105(a)(5). That special statute…
Can a Delaware city use an outside vendor to search a broad FOIA request for emails?
The AG found no FOIA violation in Wilmington's decision to use an outside vendor for this broad email search. The City supported its need with sworn affidavits, showed that the vendor estimates…
Can Delaware DNREC refuse a FOIA request from someone it is suing because the records relate to the lawsuit?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA when it refused to produce records to an attorney whose clients DNREC was suing over a dry cleaning site, because the records pertained to that…
Can a non-Delaware researcher obtain a database snapshot of Delaware's Online Wanted Person Review via FOIA?
No. The AG concluded DELJIS properly denied the request because the petitioner was not a Delaware citizen. Citing McBurney v. Young, the AG reaffirmed that Delaware FOIA's record-access rights are…
When a Delaware city quotes thousands of dollars to fulfill a journalist's FOIA request for emails and text messages, can the AG's office review whether those cost estimates are reasonable?
Yes. The AG reviewed the revised email and text-message estimates, accepted the City of Wilmington's sworn support for them, and found no FOIA violation. It treated the withdrawn original email…
Can someone get around Delaware FOIA's pending-litigation exemption by filing the request in a personal capacity while their advocacy organization is appealing the same permit?
No. The AG concluded DNREC properly withheld well-test data tied to a pending Environmental Appeals Board appeal because a member of the appellant organization cannot route around the litigation…
Can a Delaware FOIA requester force an agency to run a custom database query and produce results in a specific format like Excel?
Only partly. FOIA requires an agency to export existing data to a spreadsheet, but it does not require new programming, a database search using the requester's criteria, or conversion into a new…
Can a requester who concedes he and his firm are not Delaware citizens demand Department of Insurance records under Delaware FOIA?
No, under this opinion. After the requester conceded that neither he nor his firm was a Delaware citizen, the AG found no FOIA violation in the Department of Insurance's denial. The opinion did not…
Does the Delaware open meeting law cover an informal gathering of a town manager, an audit committee chair, contract accountants, and an outside auditor to talk about audit issues?
No. The AG concluded the gathering was not a 'public body' because no government entity established or appointed it, and FOIA does not give the AG's office authority to enforce a town's compliance…
When a town manager and police chief sign LESO program documents without a Council vote, does Delaware FOIA require an open meeting first?
No. The AG found the Town Manager and Police Chief did not constitute a 'public body,' so FOIA's open-meeting rules did not attach. Whether their signatures exceeded municipal authority is a…
Are citizen complaints against Delaware State Police officers reachable through a Delaware FOIA request, and can a confidentiality order from prior litigation block disclosure of public records?
No to the first; the AG concluded LEOBOR keeps complaints against sworn officers confidential as part of investigatory records. Court-issued confidentiality orders can also block disclosure under §…
If a county zoning agenda lists a special-use exception by its zoning-code category (nursing home / convalescent home / home for the aged) but the actual hearing is about an assisted living facility with 35 houses, did the agenda give legally sufficient notice under Delaware FOIA?
Yes. The AG concluded that citing the zoning-code subsections for the requested exception was objectively comprehensible notice, even though the agenda did not use the specific phrase 'assisted…
Can a Delaware town withhold surveillance video of a Town Hall confrontation when criminal charges are still pending?
Yes. The AG found that surveillance video was part of an active investigatory file for a pending criminal prosecution and was therefore exempt under 29 Del. C. § 10002(l)(3). Public interest and…
Does Delaware FOIA require a state agency to answer questions in a public records request, and what happens when the agency responds after the 15-business-day deadline?
The AG found the Auditor of Accounts committed a technical FOIA violation by responding late, but declined to recommend any remedy because the records were eventually produced. FOIA does not require…
Are the monthly volume and price reports that Delaware alcohol importers file with the Division of Revenue accessible under FOIA, or are they confidential tax records?
The AG concluded the reports were tax records and exempt from FOIA. Because 30 Del. C. § 368 made it unlawful to disclose the contents of any report required under Title 30, and the Rule 401 monthly…
If a quorum of a town council shows up at a properly noticed committee meeting but does not discuss public business among themselves, is that a separate open-meeting violation under Delaware FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG concluded that mere attendance by a quorum at another body's public meeting was not a separate Council meeting, because there was no discussion or deliberation among the…
When a Delaware town council goes into executive session about a complaint against an appointed official, what makes that closed-door discussion legal under FOIA?
The AG concluded that Frankford Town Council properly used the personnel exception under 29 Del. C. § 10004(b)(9) because the executive session in-camera record showed an individual employee's…
Does a town building committee have to hold a public meeting before approving a building permit?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Fenwick Island Building Committee is a public body and violated FOIA by approving a building permit application without holding a public meeting, though a separate…
Can a Delaware school district refuse a FOIA request by saying it doesn't have a report broken down at the school-building level?
Yes, based on this opinion. FOIA does not require a public body to create a new record, compile data from other existing records, or reformat information into a report that doesn't already exist, so…
Does a Delaware county council have to disclose a property's purchase price in its public meeting minutes while still negotiating the deal?
No, based on this opinion. FOIA requires public bodies to keep minutes of meetings and record votes, but it doesn't require minutes to include a summary of everything discussed, so Sussex County…
Does a Delaware public board violate open meetings law by voting on hiring a director without naming the position out loud?
Not a substantive violation, based on this opinion. The Wilmington Housing Authority committed only a technical FOIA violation by labeling its executive session agenda item a 'personnel matter'…
What must Delaware's Governor's office submit to explain executive-privilege redactions in a FOIA response?
The AG found that the Governor's office adequately raised and explained its executive-privilege redactions through counsel's affidavit and a detailed written submission. It expressly declined to…
Browse Delaware opinions by topic
Attorney general opinions in Delaware are written by the Delaware Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.