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 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…
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.…
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…
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…
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,…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
What happens if a Delaware police department responds late to a FOIA request?
The AG found Wilmington police violated FOIA by responding late to two records requests. It required no further remedy because the requester confirmed receiving the department's response. 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…
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…
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…
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…
Do Delaware prison officials have to release use-of-force reports and inmate grievances after a prison riot?
Mostly no. The AG found that DOC could withhold most requested JTVCC incident, use-of-force, grievance, disciplinary, and Rule 210 records under FOIA exemptions. For contraband-seizure records, the…
Can a state agency withhold records from someone who is actively suing a related federal agency over the same issue?
Yes, on these facts. The AG upheld DNREC's denial to a property owner litigating a related flood elevation dispute against FEMA. DNREC was not a party, but the statute contained no express party…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Can a Delaware licensing board withhold its licensees' email addresses under FOIA?
Yes, in this case. The AG found Delaware engineers' email addresses protected by common-law privacy because the engineers had a clear privacy interest and disclosure would not shed light on…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Does a school district get off the hook for responding late to a public records request if it eventually hands over the records?
No. The AG found Red Clay Consolidated School District failed to respond on time in all five petitions. A later response did not cure the missed deadline. The AG ordered no specific remedy because…
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…
Do a city council's committees have to give public notice of their meetings under Delaware's FOIA?
Yes. The AG found Seaford's Electric Committee and Economic Development Committee were public bodies under FOIA because they were created to make recommendations to the Council. They therefore had…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Does directing a records requester to a public website satisfy a FOIA request if the requester is incarcerated and has no computer access?
Yes, according to this opinion, at least based on what the agency knew at the time. An incarcerated requester asked for campaign finance records, and the State Election Commissioner directed him to…
If meeting minutes show a board voted during a closed executive session, is that automatically a FOIA violation?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A charter school's approved meeting minutes appeared to show the board voting on a settlement while in a closed executive session, which would violate…
Can an out-of-state resident be denied access to Delaware public records under the state's FOIA law?
Yes, according to this opinion. A Colorado resident's broad request for state banking records was denied because he was not a Delaware citizen. The AG concluded that Delaware's FOIA statute, despite…
Can a state agency charge me for the time it takes a non-lawyer employee to decide which of my requested records are exempt from disclosure?
No, according to this opinion. A former State Treasurer requested roughly 19,000 emails from his old office, and the office's cost estimate included time for a non-lawyer coordinator to decide which…
Can a city council remove a speaker from public comment for making personal attacks on the mayor?
Yes, according to this opinion. A resident was removed from a city council meeting's public comment period after comparing the mayor's conduct toward a councilmember to treating him 'like a…
Does a public body violate open-meetings law if the meeting room turns out to be too small for the crowd that shows up?
It can, according to this opinion. The State Board of Education held a heavily attended meeting on a controversial school redistricting plan in a room that turned out to be too small, and the AG…
Do public meeting minutes have to include everything a resident said during public comment?
No, according to this opinion. A resident complained that a city council's meeting minutes omitted parts of his critical public comment about a social media policy, distorting the public record. The…
If I sue a county after filing a records request, can it use my own lawsuit as a reason to withhold the records?
Yes, according to this opinion. A former county employee's records request for meeting audio went unanswered past FOIA's 15-day deadline, which the AG found was a violation. But once the requester…
How long do I have to file a FOIA open-meetings complaint after the meeting I'm complaining about?
About six months, according to this opinion. The AG declined to investigate several open-meeting allegations because they were raised more than six months after they occurred, and found two other…
Did a county administrator's bonus and day-off announcements create a public meeting under Delaware FOIA?
No FOIA meeting occurred, according to this opinion. The AG found that the County Administrator made both decisions without Council approval, and that announcing them at employee luncheons did not…
If a state agency misses the FOIA deadline but the records would have been exempt anyway, is there still a remedy?
No remedy was ordered here. DNREC violated FOIA by missing the 15-business-day response deadline, but the requested records were exempt from disclosure because litigation over the same subject…
Can a state environmental agency refuse to release records about how it negotiated a settlement, citing settlement talks or draft-document privilege?
Partly. The AG rejected DNREC's claim that Delaware law recognizes a special privilege protecting settlement-negotiation records, and found DNREC hadn't proven every document it labeled a 'working…
Can a town make you view public meeting minutes only at a town clerk's private home?
No, according to this opinion. A resident asked the Town of Little Creek for Town Council meeting minutes. The AG found the Town wasn't required to post minutes online, but did violate FOIA's…
Can a police department charge me for the time it takes to review its policy manual for safety-sensitive information before releasing it under a records request?
Yes, according to this opinion, as long as the fee reflects a safety-focused review rather than a legal review of FOIA exemptions, which the statute bars from being charged. The City of New Castle…
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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.