HB197 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STALKING.

Crime

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Griffith
Last action: 2026-05-21
Official status: Signed 5/21/26
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is not explicitly stated in the provided text, though it typically becomes effective upon signature or on a specified date.

Delaware Law Changes on Stalking

HB197 updates how stalking is defined, increases prison penalties for certain cases, and adds rules about excluding evidence if the behavior was a protected activity.

What This Bill Does

Expands the definition of 'course of conduct' to include three or more separate incidents where someone follows, monitors, tracks, observes, surveys, threatens, communicates in a risky way, or interferes with another person's daily life.
Raises basic stalking from a class G felony to a class E felony.
Increases the penalty for serious stalking cases involving specific conditions (like age differences, court order violations, threats, or injury) from a class F felony to a class D felony.
Requires courts to exclude all evidence if they find that the accused person was engaged in constitutionally protected activities.
Sets minimum prison sentences of 6 months for people who stalk while violating existing court orders.

Who It Names or Affects

People charged with stalking under Delaware law
Victims of stalking behavior in the state
Courts handling stalking cases and evidence rulings

Terms To Know

Course of conduct: Three or more separate incidents where a person follows, monitors, tracks, observes, surveys, threatens, communicates in a risky way, or interferes with another's daily life.
Class E felony and Class D felony: Categories of serious crimes that carry heavier prison sentences than lower classes like G or F felonies.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not apply to legitimate activities by police, private investigators, security officers, or private detectives.
A person cannot use the defense that they did not know their actions were unwanted or intended to cause fear.
The specific effective date of this law is not listed in the provided text.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Griffith

Passed 6/30/25

Plain English: This amendment changes how stalking is defined by removing 'tracks' as a specific action and updating the rules for threats to require that the person making them knowingly ignores a serious risk.

Removes the word "tracks" from the list of actions considered part of stalking behavior.
Updates the definition of threatening or communicating with someone by adding language about consciously ignoring risks.

The amendment text does not explain what specific laws are being changed in subsection (a) mentioned at the end, so it is unclear exactly which rules apply to those threats.
The summary provided with the bill uses legal terms like "subjective intent" that are hard to define without seeing the full original law.

Bill History

2026-05-21 Delaware General Assembly
Signed by Governor
2026-05-05 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
2026-01-21 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits
2025-07-01 Delaware General Assembly
Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 197 - Passed In House by Voice Vote
2025-06-30 Delaware General Assembly
Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NO 2 ABSENT 1 VACANT
2025-06-24 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 197 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 On Its Merits
2025-06-05 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STALKING.
This Act expands the definition of a “course of conduct” in the stalking statute and also provides that if the court finds as a matter of law that acts subject to this statute are in fact constitutionally protected activities, then all evidence associated with those activities must be excluded.
This Act raises stalking under § 1312(c) from a class F to a class D felony. And also raises stalking under § 1312 (b) from a class G to a class E felony.
This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Griffith & Sen. Sturgeon

Rep. Romer; Sens. Hoffner, Cruce

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 197

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STALKING.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 1312, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 1312. Stalking; class

G felony, class F felony,

E felony, class D felony,

class C felony.

(a) A person is guilty of stalking when the person knowingly engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person and that conduct would cause a reasonable person to:

(1) Fear physical injury to himself or herself or that of another person; or

(2) Suffer other significant mental anguish or distress that may, but does not necessarily, require medical or other professional treatment or counseling.

(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is a class

G

E

felony.

(c) Stalking is a class

F

D

felony if a person is guilty of stalking and 1 or more of the following exists:

(1) The person is age 21 or older and the victim is under the age of 14; or

(2) The person violated any order prohibiting contact with the victim; or

(3) The victim is age 62 years of age or older; or

(4) The course of conduct includes a threat of death or threat of serious physical injury to the victim, or to another person; or

(5) The person causes physical injury to the victim.

(d) Stalking is a class C felony if the person is guilty of stalking and 1 or more of the following exists:

(1) The person possesses a deadly weapon during any act; or

(2) The person causes serious physical injury to the victim.

(e)

Definitions. —

The following terms shall have the following meaning as used in this section:

(1) “Course of conduct”

means

means:

a.

3

Three

or more separate incidents,

including, but not limited to,

including

acts in which the person

by any action, method, device, or means either

directly, indirectly, or through third

parties,

parties:

by any action, method, device, or means

,

1.

follows,

Follows,

monitors,

tracks,

observes,

surveys,

or surveys a person.

2.

threatens,

Threatens

or communicates to or about

another,

another in a manner that consciously disregards a substantial risk that the actor’s conduct is a violation of subsection (a) of this section.

3.

or interferes

Interferes

with, jeopardizes, damages, or disrupts another’s daily activities, property, employment, business, career, education, or medical care.

b.

A conviction is not required for any predicate act relied upon to establish a course of conduct. A conviction for any predicate act relied upon to establish a course of conduct does not preclude prosecution under this section. Prosecution under this section does not preclude prosecution under any other section of the Code.

(2) “A reasonable person” means a reasonable person in the victim’s circumstances.

(f) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of § 4205 of this title, any person who commits the crime of stalking by engaging in a course of conduct which includes any act or acts which have previously been prohibited by a then-existing court order or sentence shall receive a minimum sentence of 6 months incarceration at Level V. The first 6 months of said period of incarceration shall not be subject to suspension.

(g) Notwithstanding any contrary provision of § 4205 of this title, any person who is convicted of stalking within 5 years of a prior conviction of stalking shall receive a minimum sentence of 1 year incarceration at Level V. The first year of said period of incarceration shall not be subject to suspension.

(h) In any prosecution under this law, it shall not be a defense that the perpetrator was not given actual notice that the course of conduct was unwanted; or that the perpetrator did not intend to cause the victim fear or other emotional distress.

(i) In any prosecution under this section, it is an affirmative defense that the person charged was engaged in

lawful picketing.

a constitutionally protected activity. If a person asserts a defense under this paragraph, and the defense is found valid as a matter of law, then all evidence of the activity must be excluded.

(j) This section shall not apply to conduct which occurs in furtherance of legitimate activities of law-enforcement, private investigators, security officers or private detectives as those activities are defined in Chapter 13 of Title 24.

SYNOPSIS

This Act expands the definition of a “course of conduct” in the stalking statute and also provides that if the court finds as a matter of law that acts subject to this statute are in fact constitutionally protected activities, then all evidence associated with those activities must be excluded.

This Act raises stalking under § 1312(c) from a class F to a class D felony. And also raises stalking under § 1312 (b) from a class G to a class E felony.

This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.