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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When a town manager and police chief sign administrative agreements (like an LESO surplus-property program policy) without a Council vote, does Delaware FOIA require an open meeting before they sign?
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 question …
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 § 10…
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 wit…
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 living…
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 selec…
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 a…
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 r…
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 compete…
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 attending …
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 info…
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 Counc…
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 C…
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' instea…
Can Delaware's Governor withhold records about a policy decision by claiming executive privilege under FOIA?
Yes, based on this opinion. The Delaware Superior Court's Flowers decision requires only an affidavit from the Governor's counsel verifying a good-faith review, plus a detailed written explanation, no…
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 public…
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 were…
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 liti…
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 gove…
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 grant-in-ai…
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 review, …
Can a Delaware police department satisfy FOIA by swearing under oath that it has no historical staffing records instead of producing new data?
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 re…
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 De…
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 o…
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 s…
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 cam…
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 agency…
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 for …
Are the costs of court-appointed defense attorneys for indigent criminal defendants public record in Delaware?
Yes, but only in aggregate. The AG ruled Delaware's public defense agency had to disclose the total costs and payments for court-appointed defense attorneys representing a group of indicted defendants…
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 the …
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 compensation,…
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 outsourcing …
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 citiz…
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 wan…
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 answering …
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 th…
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 and…
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, and…
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 though …
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 rec…
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 disclose…
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 couldn't …
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 public…
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 amo…
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 FOIA…
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 Commissio…
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, even…
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 from…
Can Delaware redact addresses and case narratives from an animal control call log released under FOIA?
Yes. The AG found the Division of Public Health could redact case numbers, addresses, witness names, and investigative narratives from an animal control call log as exempt investigatory files, though …
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 require …
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 sta…
Is a Delaware city off the hook for a late FOIA response if it eventually answers before the AG rules?
No, but no extra remedy follows either. The AG found Wilmington violated FOIA by missing the 15-business-day deadline for a records request, but ordered no remediation because the city produced the re…
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 p…
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 bo…
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 th…
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 record…
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 categ…
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 purchas…
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 a …
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 investiga…
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 beca…
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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.