AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 RELATING TO ARREST BY A PRIVATE PERSON.

Plain English Breakdown

The official text confirms the removal of private person arrest authority for out-of-state accusations but does not explicitly define 'felony' beyond describing the punishment threshold.

HB76: Changes to Private Person Arrest Rules

This bill removes the legal permission for regular people to arrest someone without a warrant if that person is accused in another state's courts of a crime punishable by death or more than one year in prison.

What This Bill Does

• Removes the rule allowing private citizens to make arrests without a warrant based on accusations from other states.
• Keeps peace officers allowed to make these types of arrests without a warrant.
• Applies specifically to people charged with crimes punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year in another state's courts.

Who It Names or Affects

• Private citizens who might otherwise arrest someone based on out-of-state accusations
• People accused of serious crimes in the courts of states other than Delaware

Terms To Know

Warrantless arrest

Taking someone into custody without first getting written permission from a judge.

Felony

A crime punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year, as described in the bill text.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill was stricken (removed) from consideration on May 13, 2025.
• Because it was stricken, no further action will be taken and it did not become law in this session.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 RELATING TO ARREST BY A PRIVATE PERSON.
This Act eliminates authorization for a warrantless arrest by a private person in the case of an individual accused in the courts of another state of a felony.

Current Bill Text

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Rep. Gorman & Sen. Pinkney

Reps. Burns, Heffernan, Morrison, Neal, Wilson-Anton

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 76

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 RELATING TO ARREST BY A PRIVATE PERSON.

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

Section 1. Amend § 2514, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 2514. Arrest without warrant.

The arrest of a person may be lawfully made by any peace

officer or a private person,

officer,

without a warrant, upon reasonable information that the accused stands charged in the courts of a state with a crime punishable by death or imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 year, but when so arrested the accused shall be taken before a judge or justice of the peace with all practicable speed and complaint shall be made against the accused under oath setting forth the ground for the arrest as in § 2513 of this title, and thereafter the accused’s answer shall be heard as if the accused had been arrested on a warrant.

SYNOPSIS

This Act eliminates authorization for a warrantless arrest by a private person in the case of an individual accused in the courts of another state of a felony.