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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If a Delaware public body's agenda labels an item by complainant type rather than the actual school or activity, is that a FOIA notice violation?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled DIAA's Sportsmanship Committee violated FOIA by listing the agenda item as 'Sportsmanship Complaint – Parent,' which gave no clue the discussion concerned Concord High Schoo…
Is a Delaware county 'working group' picked by the County Administrator subject to FOIA's open meeting rules?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled Sussex County's Buffers and Wetlands Working Group is a 'public body' under FOIA. The County Administrator picked the members, and the group was charged with making recommen…
Does Delaware FOIA make my agency convert raw data from HTML to CSV when I ask for it as a database file?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that DSP did not violate FOIA when it produced 2014-2016 Uniform Crime Reporting data as HTML files rather than the CSV or database format the journalist requested. FOIA does…
If a Delaware town commissioner blurts out a personnel comment in open session, does FOIA make that a violation?
No. The Delaware AG ruled the Town of Dewey Beach did not violate FOIA when a Town Commissioner briefly mentioned concerns about the Police Chief's effectiveness during an open meeting. The Town Manag…
Can a Delaware agency hit me with a $5,200 FOIA cost estimate for cap-and-trade records and refuse to waive it for public interest?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled DNREC did not violate FOIA by issuing a $5,217.94 itemized cost estimate (139 hours of staff time) for a five-year cap-and-trade records request and refusing to waive fees. …
If a Delaware school board votes to add an item to its agenda at the start of a meeting, can a later open-session ratification cure the FOIA violation?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled that Sussex Tech violated FOIA at its March 11, 2019 meeting by voting at the outset to add a feasibility-study consultant award not on the noticed agenda. But the Board's s…
Can I FOIA the Division of Corporations for proof that my LLC was actually filed in 2014 even if the original document was rejected and purged?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Department of State did not violate FOIA when it could not produce documents about a 2014 LLC formation attempt that was rejected and purged. 6 Del. C. § 18-1105(a)(…
Can a Delaware school board add a brand-new vote to its agenda by motion at the start of the meeting?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that Sussex Tech School District violated FOIA's open meeting requirements when its Board of Education voted at the May 13, 2019 meeting outset to amend the agenda and decide…
Can a Delaware county discuss agricultural-easement purchases in executive session under the 'site acquisition' exemption?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled Sussex County Council did not violate FOIA by holding executive sessions for the Agricultural Lands Preservation Program. Buying preservation easements is buying real proper…
How can a Delaware agency prove it really searched private email accounts and cellphones for FOIA-responsive records?
By submitting a sworn affidavit. The Delaware AG ruled that the Auditor of Accounts adequately searched for records about Odyssey Charter School where its FOIA Coordinator submitted an under-oath affi…
Does Delaware FOIA require an agency to produce the same email twice if it sits in two officials' inboxes?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the City of Lewes did not violate FOIA by producing one copy of an email rather than separate duplicates from each official's inbox. FOIA does not require an agency to c…
Can a Delaware journalist FOIA the raw traffic-stop database used by State Police?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Delaware State Police properly withheld 10 years of raw traffic-stop data. The data is derived from police reports and accident reports, which are exempt as investig…
If I ask my town for the Town Manager's 'schedule' and they send me his employment contract, did they violate FOIA?
No. The Delaware AG ruled that the Town of Dewey Beach did not violate FOIA when it responded to a Town Commissioner's FOIA request for the 'Town Manager's and Police Chief's schedule' by producing ex…
Can a Delaware county refuse to search for time-stamped copies of my own FOIA filings?
Partly. The Delaware AG ruled New Castle County violated FOIA by not specifically addressing whether it had searched for time-stamped copies of the requester's earlier FOIA filings; the County had to …
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 are …
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 te…
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 exem…
If a Delaware city says it has no records matching my request, can the AG force it to search again?
No. The Delaware AG determined the City of Wilmington did not violate FOIA where the City represented that it had no records responsive to the second and third items of Kostyshyn's request and made no…
Can a crime victim use FOIA to get an unredacted copy of the Delaware State Police initial crime report?
The Delaware AG ruled that the Delaware State Police could not show its response to Jeffrey Clouser's FOIA request for an unredacted initial crime report was timely under § 10003(h)'s 15-business-day …
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 agenc…
If a Delaware agency says it does not have the document I asked for, can the AG investigate and force them to look harder?
No. The Delaware AG declined to find a FOIA violation by the Auditor of Accounts because counsel represented that the requested timekeeping policy had been sent and that no other office-closure record…
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 to…
Does Delaware FOIA force the agency to mail me a date-stamped copy of my own request, and how specific does my records request have to be?
No. Delaware FOIA requires public bodies to make records available for inspection and copying, not to mail copies (29 Del. C. § 10003(a)). Requesters must describe records with enough specificity for …
Can a Delaware family member get the public-health investigation file on a disease outbreak at an assisted-living facility?
No. Delaware DPH properly withheld the full investigation file on a GI outbreak at Brandywine Assisted Living at Fenwick Island under FOIA's medical-files exemption (29 Del. C. § 10002(l)(1)) and the …
Can a Delaware town go into executive session about selling city property and immediately vote on the sale in open session?
Yes. The Delaware AG ruled that a Rehoboth Beach Special Meeting agenda combining a § 10004(b)(2) executive session on a possible property sale with an open-session vote on the same matter satisfied F…
When a Delaware agency redacts records, does it have to explain why each redaction was made?
Yes. Delaware FOIA at 29 Del. C. § 10003(h)(2) requires public bodies that deny a request 'in whole or in part' to state the reasons for the denial in the response itself. The Delaware Department of A…
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 di…
If a Delaware public body finally produces records mid-petition, is my FOIA delay complaint dead?
Yes. Once the City of Wilmington produced the narrowed records during the petition process, the journalist's FOIA delay claim was moot. Delaware FOIA petitions exist to determine whether a violation '…
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 exist …
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 prohi…
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 days …
If a Delaware agency lets a journalist view a video at its office but refuses to let her copy it (including via her own laptop or phone), does Delaware FOIA require the agency to allow copying?
Yes. The AG concluded the Department of State violated FOIA by allowing the journalist to view, but not copy, a video of an inmate's collapse that had already been played in a public licensing hearing…
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 records'…
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 th…
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. The AG concluded the gatherings did not constitute meetings of a public body under FOIA's two-part test, so the City of Rehoboth Beach was not required to create agendas or minutes. Two Commission…
Does Delaware FOIA force an agency to answer my questions or just to produce existing records?
The Delaware AG concluded that the Auditor of Accounts FOIA petition was moot. The Auditor had responded (one day late, blamed on a FOIA Coordinator transition) by sending the requested annual financi…
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 11…
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 ma…
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 pending-or-potential-litigation exemption in 29 Del. C. § 10004(b)(4) applied, because the FOIA petition process is a quasi-judicial proceeding that qualifies as litigation. The City's separate ci…
Does Delaware FOIA make a complaint moot if the agency provides the records after the petition is filed?
The Delaware AG concluded that the FOIA petition against the Department of Safety and Homeland Security was moot. By the time the petition reached the AG, the Department had already responded to the r…
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 reque…
Can a Delaware municipality charge 25 cents per photocopy under FOIA, even though the default FOIA fee is 10 cents?
The Delaware AG concluded the Town of Dewey Beach did not violate FOIA by adopting a 25-cent-per-page photocopy fee. Section 10002(3)(m)(1) sets a default fee of 10 cents per page, but municipalities …
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. T…
Can Delaware's governor withhold emails with a major developer under executive privilege if he submits an affidavit explaining why?
The Delaware AG concluded the Office of the Governor did not violate FOIA when it redacted communications between the governor's staff and developer Buccini/Pollin Group under executive privilege. An …
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 discus…
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 pay'…
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, and…
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 properly…
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 concluded that the City of Lewes violated FOIA by using an executive session under the 'exempt-documents' provision to get general legal advice on a zoning decision and then voting on …
How does Delaware count the 15-day FOIA response clock when a request is sent to the wrong contact at a public body?
The Delaware AG concluded that the New Castle County Police did not violate FOIA's timeliness rules. A request submitted to a different officer (not the official FOIA Coordinator listed on the website…
Can Delaware FOIA be used to demand the legal reasoning a state agency used to deny a previous FOIA request?
The Delaware AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA when it denied a follow-on request seeking the 'bases and reasoning' for an earlier FOIA denial. The requested records were either not records at a…
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 charged …
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 exp…
Can a Delaware municipality charge a reporter thousands of dollars in vendor fees to fulfill a FOIA request for emails?
The Delaware AG concluded that Wilmington did not violate FOIA when it charged a reporter outside-vendor search fees for a broad multi-year email request. The City supported the need for a vendor with…
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 pen…
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 lim…
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 can review fee estimates for reasonableness, but the AG accepted the City of Wilmington's sworn affidavits supporting its estimates and found no FOIA violation. Estimates for already-revis…
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 exemp…
Can a Delaware FOIA requester force an agency to run a custom database query and produce results in a specific format like Excel?
No. The AG concluded DNREC did not violate FOIA because the requested database extract did not exist as a record and creating it would require new programming. Public bodies must produce existing reco…
Can a non-Delaware resident or a Delaware-registered LLC owned by a non-resident demand Delaware Department of Insurance records under FOIA?
No. The AG reaffirmed that Delaware FOIA grants record-access rights only to Delaware citizens, applying the U.S. Supreme Court's reasoning in McBurney v. Young. DOI properly denied a Texas-based hedg…
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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.