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SS1FORSB314 • 2025

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Last action
2026-06-16
Official status
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.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.
  • Like the original bill, Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 314 modernizes the Rape Shield provisions in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, §§ 3508 and 3509 and provides that in any prosecution for any degree of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration or unlawful sexual contact, any evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion is inadmissible unless it complies with the procedure set forth in § 3508 of Title 11, is relevant and is material to a fact in issue in the case, and the inflammatory or prejudicial nature of the evidence does not outweigh the probative value of the evidence.
  • This Senate Substitute differs from the original in that it establishes a separate procedure under § 3508(b) of Title 11 to address prior false accusations of unlawful sexual conduct by the complaining witness, providing a distinct set of standards for handling the unique issues surrounding this type of ev

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

No action history is stored for this bill yet.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.
Like the original bill, Senate Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 314 modernizes the Rape Shield provisions in Title 11 of the Delaware Code, §§ 3508 and 3509 and provides that in any prosecution for any degree of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, unlawful sexual penetration or unlawful sexual contact, any evidence that the complaining witness made a false accusation of unlawful sexual conduct against any person on another occasion is inadmissible unless it complies with the procedure set forth in § 3508 of Title 11, is relevant and is material to a fact in issue in the case, and the inflammatory or prejudicial nature of the evidence does not outweigh the probative value of the evidence.

This Senate Substitute differs from the original in that it establishes a separate procedure under § 3508(b) of Title 11 to address prior false accusations of unlawful sexual conduct by the complaining witness, providing a distinct set of standards for handling the unique issues surrounding this type of ev