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SJR13 • 2025

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Pettyjohn
Last action
2026-05-14
Official status
Passed 5/14/26
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.

What This Bill Does

  • DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.
  • This Senate Joint Resolution recognizes that missed court appearances create costs for the justice system and negative consequences for individuals, and that reminder notifications can reduce failure-to-appear rates.
  • It directs the Delaware Judiciary to report on the cost, timeline, and requirements to build a court date reminder program for the Justice of the Peace Court and to expand it to the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, and Superior Court and provides that DELJIS shall build the program if funding is appropriated.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-14 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

  2. 2026-04-22 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 5 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits

  3. 2026-04-16 Delaware General Assembly

    Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

  4. 2026-04-15 Delaware General Assembly

    Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT

  5. 2026-03-25 Delaware General Assembly

    Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 Favorable

  6. 2026-03-19 Delaware General Assembly

    Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.
This Senate Joint Resolution recognizes that missed court appearances create costs for the justice system and negative consequences for individuals, and that reminder notifications can reduce failure-to-appear rates. It directs the Delaware Judiciary to report on the cost, timeline, and requirements to build a court date reminder program for the Justice of the Peace Court and to expand it to the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, and Superior Court and provides that DELJIS shall build the program if funding is appropriated.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Pettyjohn & Sen. Pinkney & Rep. Cooke & Rep. Hilovsky & Rep. Minor-Brown

Sens. Buckson, Cruce, Hansen, Hocker, Huxtable, Lawson, Richardson, Sokola, Walsh, Wilson; Reps. Berry, Gorman, Griffith, Harris, K. Johnson, Morrison, Romer, Snyder-Hall, K. Williams

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13

DIRECTING THE DELAWARE JUDICIARY TO ESTABLISH A PILOT COURT DATE REMINDER PROGRAM AND TO STUDY AND REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF EXPANDING THE PROGRAM STATEWIDE.

WHEREAS, when an individual misses a court date, it creates significant costs for the justice system and the community; and

WHEREAS, for the courts, missed court dates may delay case resolution and reduce efficiency; and

WHEREAS, individuals who do not appear for court dates may face arrest or incarceration; and

WHEREAS, research has consistently found that sending reminder notifications, particularly text messages, before a court date can reduce missed appearances; and

WHEREAS, the creation of a court date reminder program will reduce the negative consequences of missed court appearances and would benefit Delaware.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 153

rd

General Assembly of the State of Delaware, with the approval of the Governor, that the Delaware Judiciary establishes a pilot court date reminder program (pilot reminder program).

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the pilot reminder program shall be implemented in Justice of the Peace Court and:

(1) Provide notifications to individuals with required court appearances for criminal and traffic cases.

(2) Enroll all eligible individuals with phone numbers automatically and allow them to opt-out of receiving notifications.

(3) Send at least two text messages before a scheduled court appearance: one at least 7 days before the hearing and one text message one day before the hearing.

(4) Ensure that the text messages:

a. Notifies the individual of the date, time, and location of the court appearance.

b. Informs the individual of any potential consequences of missing the court appearance or ways to receive help with the case.

c. Uses simple, plain language so that individuals can better understand the information.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Delaware Judiciary is directed to study and report on the feasibility of expanding such a court date reminder program to all courts within the State of Delaware and complete a report no later than June 1, 2027, that contains the following:

(1) An estimate of the cost and amount of time it would take to expand the pilot reminder program to provide notifications for scheduled court appearances in the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, and Superior Court.

(2) Identification of any statutory or procedural requirements necessary for the successful implementation of this court reminder program, including but not limited to changes to forms or case workflows.

(3) An estimate of the impacts of expansion on court appearance rates, issuance of bench warrants for missed court appearances, subsequent arrests and periods of incarceration, and on the timeliness of case resolution.

(4) An estimate of any potential cost savings for courts and law enforcement related to implementation of this court reminder program.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Delaware Judiciary shall submit the report required under this joint resolution to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with copies to members of the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SYNOPSIS

This Senate Joint Resolution recognizes that missed court appearances create costs for the justice system and negative consequences for individuals, and that reminder notifications can reduce failure-to-appear rates. It directs the Delaware Judiciary to report on the cost, timeline, and requirements to build a court date reminder program for the Justice of the Peace Court and to expand it to the Court of Common Pleas, Family Court, and Superior Court and provides that DELJIS shall build the program if funding is appropriated.

Author: Senator Pettyjohn