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.
Is a nonprofit that a city created to run a housing program a 'public body' subject to Delaware's open records law?
Yes, based on this opinion. Because the City of Wilmington established the Wilmington Housing Partnership in 1989 and the nonprofit receives public funding, it met both parts of FOIA's two-part…
Can a Delaware state agency withhold a new hire's resume from a FOIA request as a private personnel record?
Not entirely, based on this opinion. The Department of Insurance had to provide a properly redacted copy of a newly hired deputy commissioner's resume because her employment history and education…
Can the Delaware Department of Justice withhold its internal exculpatory-evidence policy from a FOIA request as attorney work product?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Delaware Department of Justice's internal policies and procedures for handling exculpatory and culpatory evidence were prepared by DOJ attorneys in anticipation of…
If an inmate believes Delaware's Department of Justice must have a written policy on photo lineups, can the Attorney General force the department to prove no such policy exists?
No, according to this opinion. The AG accepted the Department of Justice's representation, after inquiries with the State Prosecutor and Chief of Staff, that it had no 1994 or 2017 written policy…
Is a Delaware volunteer fire company that gets state grant funding and Fire Commission oversight a public body under FOIA?
No, according to this opinion. The AG ruled the Camden-Wyoming Fire Company, a private nonprofit corporation, is not a 'public body' subject to Delaware FOIA, even though it receives state…
If Delaware's Governor's office repeatedly extends a FOIA deadline and eventually produces the records, does the requester's complaint still succeed?
No, according to this opinion. The AG dismissed a bus-advocacy group's FOIA complaint against the Governor's office as moot because the office, after several consented-to extensions for legal…
Can a Delaware police department show that requested historical staffing records do not exist through a sworn affidavit?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA when it explained, backed by a sworn affidavit from a police supervisor, that WPD does not keep year-by-year…
Is a private land trust that collects rent and pays local taxes for a Delaware village subject to the state's open records law?
No, according to this opinion. The AG ruled the Arden Trust, a private trust created by an early-1900s land grant that owns and leases land within the Village of Arden, is not a 'public body' under…
If a Delaware school district misses its own internal FOIA response policy but still responds within 15 business days, is that a FOIA violation?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found Red Clay Consolidated School District did not violate Delaware FOIA when it responded on the eleventh business day, even though that missed the district's…
Can Delaware keep all bids for a new voting-machine system secret until after the contract is awarded?
No, not entirely. The AG ruled that the Office of Management and Budget could not deny an entire public records request for voting-system procurement bids just because the request-for-proposals said…
If a Delaware city answers a FOIA request late, does the requester's complaint to the Attorney General still get decided on the merits?
No, according to this opinion. The AG dismissed a Newark resident's FOIA complaint as moot because the City eventually told him it had no records responsive to his request, even though that answer…
Can a Delaware school agency deny an entire records request just because it says the records relate to a pending lawsuit against the agency?
No, not automatically. The AG found the Department of Education could not justify a wholesale denial of a public records request just by pointing to pending litigation on a related subject; the…
Does a city council violate Delaware's open meetings law if a consultant interviews each council member separately about the same topic?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a Human Resources consultant's one-on-one interviews with each Newark City Council member and the Mayor, gathering their individual views…
Are the costs of court-appointed defense attorneys for indigent criminal defendants public record in Delaware?
Yes. The AG found records showing defense attorney costs, including who was paid and how much, must be disclosed if ODS has them, subject to valid privilege and other FOIA redactions. It recommended…
Does a city staff committee count as a public body under Delaware's open meetings law if no elected official sits on it?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG ruled that Seaford's Employee Benefit Committee was a public body under Delaware FOIA because the City Manager, a public official, appointed its members and…
Can a Delaware prison keep the names of employees assigned take-home cars secret for safety reasons?
Not the names, but some vehicle details can stay private. The AG ruled DOC had to disclose the names and titles of administrators assigned take-home vehicles as a form of public employee…
Can Delaware's Office of the State Bank Commissioner deny a FOIA request from an out-of-state publisher?
Yes. The AG upheld the office's denial of a FOIA request from an Illinois-based publisher, reaffirming that Delaware public bodies are only required to comply with records requests from Delaware citizens.
Can a Delaware school district charge $800 to search employee emails for a FOIA request?
The specific complaint became moot before the AG ruled on the merits, but the AG still warned the district that FOIA requires searching its own email records with reasonable effort before…
Does a FOIA complaint about a missing report end once the town sends it a day later?
Yes. The AG found a reporter's complaint over Dewey Beach's delayed agreed-upon-procedures report was moot once the town sent the completed report within 24 hours of her follow-up, even though she…
Does a Delaware police department have to answer written questions submitted as a FOIA request?
No. The AG found the Wilmington Police Department did not violate FOIA by not answering an incarcerated requester's three questions, since FOIA only requires producing existing records, not…
What happens if a Delaware public body keeps denying FOIA requests after the AG already ruled it must comply?
The AG will find another violation, but can't force compliance itself. The AG ruled the Trustees of New Castle Common violated FOIA again by denying a records request based on its rejected argument…
Does a Delaware FOIA complaint about missing insurance policy pages end once the town finally finds and sends them?
Yes. The AG found a complaint over Dewey Beach's slow production of insurance policy endorsement pages, including ones tied to military-surplus equipment storage, became moot once the town located…
Can a Delaware state employee use FOIA to get her own ADA accommodation records from her employer?
No. The AG found the Department of Insurance could deny an employee's own FOIA request for her ADA accommodation emails as an exempt personnel file, even though she was the subject of the records,…
If a state transit agency shares its FOIA system with a parent department, can it be blamed for 'ignoring' a request that the parent department answered?
No. The AG found Delaware Transit Corporation didn't violate FOIA when its parent agency, DelDOT, responded to a records request on both agencies' behalf through their shared FOIA system, even…
Is a police department's response to a FOIA request 'delivered' if it's left in a parcel box marked packages-only?
Yes. The AG found a Delaware police department's hand-delivered FOIA response was timely even though it was left in a porch box meant for packages, not letters, and separately upheld withholding a…
Can the Delaware AG resolve a FOIA dispute over whether records are protected by attorney-client privilege or potential litigation?
Not fully. The AG found it structurally unable to verify New Castle County Council's privilege and potential-litigation claims without record-by-record detail FOIA doesn't require agencies to…
Does a Delaware town's executive session agenda have to specify the exact topic, like naming a police department, or can it just cite the legal exemption?
Just citing the exemption is enough. The AG found Dewey Beach's agendas, which only quoted the FOIA personnel and records exemptions, met the minimum notice requirement even though reporters…
Is a meeting between a city manager and university officials subject to Delaware's open-meetings law?
No. The AG found a meeting between Newark's City Manager (a 'body of one') and University of Delaware staff about campus expansion plans wasn't a FOIA 'meeting,' since neither side was itself a…
Does a city council violate Delaware's open-meetings law by holding a press conference without notice?
Not automatically. The AG found a quorum of Seaford's city council attending a press conference about a new ordinance wasn't a FOIA 'meeting,' because the council members didn't discuss the matter…
Is it a FOIA violation if a Delaware town says requested records don't exist instead of formally denying the request?
No. The AG found the Town of Laurel's police department didn't violate FOIA by explaining that two of three requested items simply didn't exist, rather than issuing a formal written denial, since…
Can the Delaware AG resolve a FOIA dispute when the two sides give completely contradictory accounts of what happened at a meeting?
No. The AG found it could not determine whether Dover's Ethics Commission held proper public votes to enter executive session or to dismiss an ethics complaint, because the requester and the…
Are workplace training assessment reports about city employees public records in Delaware?
No, if they evaluate employees' strengths and weaknesses. The AG found Wilmington could withhold consultant-prepared training reports assessing Public Works employees as exempt personnel records,…
Is a state agency's confidential legal advice from its own attorney the same as a public 'Attorney General opinion'?
No. The AG found DNREC could withhold a Deputy Attorney General's confidential legal advice about a proposed land-use partnership because it was privileged attorney-client communication, distinct…
Can Delaware redact addresses and case narratives from an animal control call log released under FOIA?
Yes. The AG upheld DPH's redaction of case numbers, addresses, witness names, and investigative narratives as investigatory material. DPH later conceded that other fields, including officer and case…
Does Delaware FOIA require an agency to let you view records the same day you ask?
No. The AG found the Department of Insurance did not violate FOIA by offering an NAACP official in-person access to its employee manual one business day after the request, since FOIA does not…
Are a county commissioner's personal handwritten notes used to make a motion a public record under Delaware FOIA?
No, if they were prepared for the commissioner's own convenience and not filed with the public body. The AG found a Sussex County commissioner's notes for a zoning motion stayed private even after…
Is a Delaware city off the hook for a late FOIA response if it eventually answers before the AG rules?
No. The AG found Wilmington violated FOIA by missing the 15-business-day response deadline. It required no remediation because the requester later received a response. The opinion did not decide…
When a student transfers to a Delaware charter or choice school, does the local 'match tax' money their home district collected follow them?
Yes, unless the Secretary of Education specifically excludes it. The AG found Delaware law requires local match-tax revenue, like funds raised for reading and math resource teachers, to count in the…
Is a state agency's public conference a 'meeting' that has to follow Delaware's open-meetings law?
No, if it's just an informational event rather than a decision-making body. The AG found DNREC's invite-only climate and health conference wasn't a FOIA 'meeting' because attendees weren't a public…
Does a Delaware city violate open-meetings law by using vague or jargon-heavy language on a meeting agenda?
Not automatically. The AG found Seaford's agenda item describing a 'right to work' ordinance in dense regulatory language was still a valid 'general statement' under FOIA, even though it didn't use…
Can Delaware's emergency management agency deny a FOIA request by saying the records don't exist in its own files?
Yes, if that's true. The AG found DEMA did not violate FOIA by saying it has no separate local database of military-surplus equipment given to Delaware police departments, since those inventory…
Can Delaware DOT redact the names of people who report problems through its online road-condition complaint form?
Yes. The AG found DelDOT could redact the names and addresses of everyone who submits a Road Condition Report, treating each submission as a potential civil investigatory file regardless of what…
Can a Delaware county keep the details of an ongoing land-purchase negotiation out of its public meeting minutes?
Yes, while the deal is still active. The AG found Sussex County Council could keep a redacted portion of its executive session minutes about an ongoing land acquisition confidential, since the…
Does a Delaware public body have to mail copies of records to someone who can't visit in person, like an incarcerated requester?
No. The AG found Delaware FOIA only requires a public body to make records available for inspection and copying during business hours, not to mail copies, even to an incarcerated requester who sent…
Can a Delaware police-funding committee hold a closed session to discuss a fraud investigation into grant money?
Yes. The AG found the State Aid to Local Law Enforcement Committee properly closed part of its meeting to review an active investigation into possible misuse of grant funds with the assigned…
Can a Delaware town withhold a private investigator's report on police-misconduct allegations under attorney-client or work-product privilege?
Yes, if the report was funneled through the town's attorney as part of its legal representation. The AG found the Town of Smyrna could withhold a private investigator's report on its police chief…
Can a Delaware city call a special council meeting with less than seven days' notice to meet a grant deadline?
Yes, if the need for the meeting genuinely arose within the last seven days. The AG found Newark's city council properly called a special meeting on four days' notice to reconsider a bridge-funding…
Is a city council's ad hoc reorganization committee a public body that must keep meeting minutes?
Yes. The AG found Wilmington's Council Organization Commission was a public body subject to FOIA's meeting and minutes rules. It said the Commission violated FOIA to the extent its six meetings did…
Can Delaware deny you your own pre-employment background check records under FOIA?
Yes, if the agency was legally required to investigate you before hiring. The AG found DOC could withhold a rejected job applicant's own background investigation file as an exempt investigatory…
Is a college advisory committee a 'public body' that must hold open meetings under Delaware FOIA?
It depends on who is on it and what it does. The AG found DelTech Community College's Criminal Justice Advisory Board was a public body subject to FOIA because it could act as a group and included…
Are a Delaware public official's personal emails about government business subject to FOIA?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG reversed its own 2011 position and held that emails in an official's personal account are public records under Delaware FOIA if they were required by, done at…
Does a Delaware town have to prove its electronic meeting notice posted on time, or just the physical posting?
Just the physical posting, for a municipality like Dewey Beach. The AG found the town's September 22 meeting notice was timely because it was posted at the town's office at least seven days ahead;…
Is it a FOIA violation if a Delaware town posts meeting notice six days instead of seven before the meeting?
Yes, technically, but the AG found no remedy was needed because the only agenda item was a properly-noticed executive session and no substantive votes were taken at the meeting.
Does a Delaware county council violate FOIA if it votes on 'recommendations from executive session' without specifically noticing that vote on the agenda?
Not necessarily. The AG found New Castle County Council's Personnel Subcommittee did not violate FOIA by voting to direct legal research after an executive session, even though the agenda didn't…
Can Delaware DOT keep the identity of someone who filed a complaint about you confidential under FOIA?
Yes. The AG found that records identifying who complained to DelDOT about a person's mailbox are exempt investigatory files under FOIA, so the agency did not have to disclose the complainant's name…
Does a Delaware zoning board violate FOIA if it doesn't forward a citizen's written comments to the final decision-making body?
Not by itself. The AG found no FOIA violation in a Planning & Zoning Commission's alleged failure to share a citizen's opposition materials with the County Council, since FOIA's petition process…
Can Delaware withhold Planned Parenthood adverse-event reports sent to the state health department from a FOIA request?
Yes. The AG found the records confidential under Delaware's peer-review statute, 24 Del. C. § 1768(b), and upheld DHSS's denial through FOIA's exemption for records protected by other law, 29 Del.…
Can Delaware's governor's office redact executive privilege material from FOIA calendar records if it backs the redactions with a sworn affidavit?
Yes. The AG found the Governor's office properly redacted executive privilege and attorney-client privilege material from calendar records once it backed the redactions with detailed, notarized…
Does a Delaware city have to announce the Attorney General's FOIA rulings at a public council meeting?
No. The AG found nothing in FOIA that requires a public body to present or discuss the AG's prior FOIA determinations during a council meeting; publishing them online is enough.
Will Delaware's AG consider an open-meetings petition about a meeting more than six months old?
Generally no, under the AG's discretionary policy. The AG declined to reach a petition about 2002 and 2016 zoning meetings because both were more than six months old when the office received it. The…
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.