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.
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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 de…
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, created by council resolution with staff support, was a public body that violated FOIA by not keeping minutes of its six meetings, and o…
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 record…
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 out…
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 th…
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; FOI…
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 flag …
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 or…
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 only …
Can Delaware withhold Planned Parenthood adverse-event reports sent to the state health department from a FOIA request?
Yes. The AG found DHSS could withhold the records in full because the office receiving them functions as a statutory peer-review organization, whose records are shielded by a separate confidentiality …
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 affida…
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.
How long do you have to file a Delaware FOIA open-meetings complaint after the meeting happened?
Six months at the outside. The AG dismissed a complaint about zoning approvals from 2002 and 2016 as untimely, because Delaware FOIA claims must be brought within 60 days of learning of the action and…
Can Delaware deny a FOIA request both because the requester isn't a Delaware citizen and because the records are investigatory files?
Yes. The AG found the Division of Professional Regulation properly denied a complainant's records request on two independent grounds: she wasn't a Delaware citizen, and the records were exempt investi…
Must a Delaware prison hand over its own cumulative summary reports on contraband seizures under FOIA, even if individual incident reports are exempt?
Yes for the summaries, no for the underlying reports. The AG found Delaware's Department of Correction violated FOIA by not turning over its own summary documents on contraband seizures at James T. Va…
Does Delaware's public records law apply to requests from people who aren't Delaware residents?
No. Delaware's AG confirmed that FOIA only obligates public bodies to fulfill records requests from Delaware citizens, so the State Treasurer's office did not violate FOIA by denying a request from an…
How far in advance must a Delaware city council post its meeting agenda under FOIA?
At least seven days before the meeting. The AG found Wilmington's City Council violated FOIA by only posting its full agenda one day before an April 2017 meeting, even though the city argued its annua…
Is a cabinet council created by the Delaware governor's executive order a 'public body' subject to FOIA's open-meetings law?
Not automatically. The AG found the Governor's Family Services Cabinet Council fell under FOIA's 'body of one' exemption because its only members were the Governor and his own Cabinet secretaries, mak…
Is sending a Delaware FOIA response to the wrong email address a violation, even if the reply itself was on time?
Yes, but only a technical one. The AG found the Village of Arden should have used the email address tied to the original request, even though its FOIA coordinator answered within one business day, and…
Does a Delaware FOIA complaint end if the agency later hands over the records it was accused of withholding?
Yes. When the Governor's office later supplemented its response to a records request with the actual calendar, the AG treated the complaint as moot and did not decide whether the earlier response had …
Is a private-sounding historic land trust like the Trustees of the New Castle Common subject to Delaware's open records law?
Yes. The AG determined that the Trustees of the New Castle Common, a corporation the Delaware General Assembly created in 1792 to manage land for the benefit of New Castle residents, is a 'public body…
If an agency takes ten months to respond to a FOIA request, does it have to prove it acted properly along the way?
Yes. The AG found DNREC violated FOIA because it could not produce any record proving it responded within 15 business days, gave a proper reason for needing more time, or kept the contact log FOIA req…
Can a city withhold vehicle license plate numbers from parking ticket records requested under FOIA?
Partly. The AG found Wilmington could withhold vehicle license plate numbers from a reporter's parking-ticket data request under the common law right of privacy, since plate numbers can be used to ide…
Can a public body just label an agenda item 'New Business' or 'Other Business' without describing what it is?
Usually, yes. The AG found that a college board's use of generic agenda headings like 'New Business' and 'Other Business,' and the phrase 'Personnel and Legal' to justify an executive session, did not…
What happens if a Delaware police department is late responding to a FOIA request but then provides the records anyway?
The AG found the Wilmington Police Department violated FOIA by failing to respond within 15 business days to two records requests, but ordered no remedy because the department had since fulfilled the …
Can an agency's meeting agenda just say it will 'examine' an application, or does it have to say a vote is coming?
Yes, saying the board will 'examine' an item is enough. The AG found the Delaware Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation's agenda gave the public adequate notice of a right-of-way easement request,…
Does a county violate open meetings law by voting to promote someone to department director without disclosing it on the agenda?
Yes. The AG found Sussex County Council violated FOIA's open meeting requirements when its October 2016 meeting agenda gave no hint that the Council intended to discuss and vote on a successor to the …
Does a mayor have to give 7 days' notice before an emergency meeting to discuss firing an employee?
No, not when it genuinely qualifies as an emergency. The AG found that a mayor's decision to call a same-day meeting to discuss an urgent personnel matter fell within FOIA's emergency-meeting exceptio…
Is a pre-meeting 'meet and greet' for new board members subject to Delaware's open meetings law?
No violation found. The AG determined that the Wilmington Housing Authority did not violate FOIA at its February 27, 2017 board meeting: notice was posted ten days in advance at the authority's princi…
Do Delaware prison officials have to release use-of-force reports and inmate grievances after a prison riot?
Mostly yes. The AG found the Department of Correction could withhold JTVCC exceptional-incident reports, use-of-force reports, inmate grievances, staff disciplinary records, and Rule 210 proceedings a…
Can a state agency withhold records from someone who is actively suing a related federal agency over the same issue?
Yes, in this case. The AG upheld DNREC's denial of records to a property owner who was actively suing FEMA over a flood elevation determination, because the records related directly to that pending la…
Does a state agency have to get records back from the private shelter it contracts with to house seized animals?
No violation. The AG found the Division of Public Health didn't have to produce records about seized dogs' whereabouts because ownership of the dogs had already passed to a private shelter, which is n…
If a Delaware agency can't find the exact document I asked for in a FOIA request, does that violate the law?
No. The AG found that Delaware's Department of Justice did not violate FOIA when it searched for, but could not locate, the specific memo a requester asked for, told him it didn't exist, and separatel…
Can a Delaware state agency withhold correspondence with a developer by calling it part of an 'investigatory file'?
No, not here. The AG found that DNREC violated FOIA by withholding correspondence between a developer and the Sussex Conservation District under the investigatory file exemption, because the review at…
Does a town violate Delaware's open meetings law by calling a special meeting on three days' notice to vote on firing an employee?
Yes, in part. The AG found that the Town of South Bethany violated FOIA by calling a special meeting on only three days' notice to discuss and vote on firing its Town Manager without showing the exige…
Are police or fire marshal firearms qualification records exempt from Delaware's public records law as personnel files?
No, not in this case. The AG determined that the City of Wilmington violated FOIA by withholding its Fire Marshal's Office firearms qualification records, because disclosure would not have invaded per…
How many days does a Delaware state agency have to respond to a FOIA public records request?
15 business days. The AG found that the Delaware Department of Insurance violated FOIA's public records provisions by taking longer than 15 business days to respond to a request, but ordered no furthe…
Does a city council violate Delaware's open meetings law by holding an all-day planning retreat without a real agenda?
Yes. The opinion found that the City of Seaford's Council violated Delaware's open meetings law by holding an all-day planning retreat without including an agenda in the meeting notice, and then provi…
Does a Delaware charter school have to post its meeting notices online, or is physically posting them at the school enough?
No, according to this opinion. A charter school's budget oversight committee did not violate FOIA by failing to post meeting notice on the school's website, because FOIA's requirement to post notice o…
Can a school board's tax rate increase vote be challenged if the board added it to the meeting agenda as a last-minute addendum without explanation?
Yes, according to this opinion. The Milford School District Board of Directors violated FOIA by adding a Fiscal Year 2017 tax rate increase to its June 20, 2016 meeting agenda as a same-day addendum w…
Can a Delaware county deny a public records request just because the requester isn't shown to be a Delaware citizen?
Yes, according to this opinion. A consultant asked New Castle County for records and the County denied the request because he wasn't a Delaware citizen; the AG confirmed Delaware's FOIA only requires …
Can a state licensing board be forced to hand over its licensees' email addresses to a company that wants to market to them?
No, according to this opinion. An out-of-state developer of paid training courses asked the Delaware Association of Professional Engineers for the email addresses of all its licensed engineers in a sp…
Does a city council's formally appointed "leadership team," created to meet regularly with the mayor's office, have to follow Delaware's open-meetings law?
Yes, according to this opinion. The Wilmington City Council President formally appointed five Council members to a "Council Leadership Team" to meet regularly with the Mayor's administration and repor…
Can Delaware's Lottery Office refuse to break down monthly revenue and payout data by game and retailer if generating that report needs new computer programming?
Yes, according to this opinion. A newspaper editor asked the Delaware Lottery Office for three months of revenue and payout data broken down by individual game and by each licensed retailer, and the A…
Does a private consulting firm's stakeholder focus groups have to be publicly noticed under Delaware's open meetings law?
No, according to this opinion. A private planning firm hired by Sussex County to help draft a new comprehensive land use plan ran stakeholder focus groups without input from the County Council or Plan…
Can volunteer committee members violate Delaware's open-meetings law by discussing and deciding a request over email instead of at a public meeting?
Yes, according to this opinion. Three of five members of a Village of Arden community-center committee exchanged emails and reached a consensus decision to deny a resident's parking-lot request, and t…
If a school board president says "the majority of the board agrees," does that prove the board held an illegal secret meeting?
No, according to this opinion. A community member argued that a school board president's public statement that "the majority of the board also agrees" with a controversial decision proved an unnoticed…
If a public meeting agenda lists "public comments," does the board have to let anyone from the public speak?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A county Board of Adjustment listed "Public Comments" on its agenda but meant only a farewell tribute to a retiring county employee, then declined to let a …
Can Delaware state police redact purchase order details for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") surveillance equipment from a public records request?
Yes, largely, according to this opinion. The AG found Delaware State Police properly redacted FBI-designated proprietary details from purchase orders for cell-site simulator ("Stingray") equipment und…
Can a government agency withhold emails about a possible environmental violation because there's already an investigation open?
Yes, according to this opinion. DNREC properly denied a News Journal reporter's request for emails about a possible crude-oil-shipment violation because the records fell within FOIA's investigatory-fi…
Can a town be forced to answer a FOIA request asking where the money came from for an old land purchase if the records were destroyed years ago?
No, according to this opinion. The Town of Middletown didn't violate FOIA by failing to identify the funding source behind a 2002 real estate purchase, because FOIA doesn't require a public body to an…
Can a Delaware public agency charge FOIA requesters for a senior IT specialist's time to search emails, or must it use its cheapest employee's rate?
Yes, according to this opinion. Delaware Technical and Community College could bill a FOIA email search at a senior systems specialist's hourly rate, because a sworn affidavit showed that position was…
Does a school district get off the hook for responding late to a public records request if it eventually hands over the records?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found Red Clay Consolidated School District violated FOIA's fifteen-business-day response deadline in four of five petitions, rejecting the district's argument th…
Can a Delaware city refuse to release a lawsuit settlement agreement because its insurer's lawyer, not the city, holds the only copy?
No, according to this opinion. The AG ordered the City of Dover to produce a police-lawsuit settlement agreement even though the city never signed it and its insurer's outside counsel held the only co…
Do a city council's committees have to give public notice of their meetings under Delaware's FOIA?
Yes, according to this opinion. Delaware's AG ruled that a city council's Electric Committee and Economic Development Committee were both "public bodies" under FOIA because they were created to make r…
Does it satisfy open-meetings law if the people affected by a vote already knew about it, even though the public meeting agenda didn't mention it?
No, according to this opinion. The University of Delaware Board of Trustees voted to revise its bylaws under a vague agenda item ('Additional Resolutions for Board Approval') that didn't mention the b…
Can a school board discuss superintendent interview questions and hiring strategy behind closed doors?
No, according to this opinion. A school board discussed and planned interview questions and next steps in its superintendent search behind closed doors in executive session. The AG found this violated…
Does a planning commission have to post a meeting notice sign at the property being rezoned, or just at its own office?
No, according to this opinion. A resident argued a planning commission's meeting notice sign at a proposed development site was poorly placed and left neighbors unaware of the hearing. The AG found FO…
If a new government committee forgets to post notice of its first meeting, does the meeting have to be redone?
No, according to this opinion. A newly formed state committee admitted it violated FOIA by failing to give public notice of its first meeting. The AG found no remediation was warranted because the mee…
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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.