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SS3FORSB58 • 2025

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

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

Enacted

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

Sponsor
Last action
2026-05-14
Official status
Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 58, and Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate
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 POSTCONVICTION REMEDY.

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

What This Bill Does

  • AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POSTCONVICTION REMEDY.
  • This Act provides a remedy for convicted persons relating to changes in forensic scientific or technical information.
  • Specifically, a convicted person may apply to the Superior Court for relief if certain forensic scientific information was not available to be offered by the convicted person prior to the conviction or if it undermines forensic scientific evidence that was presented at trial.
  • The court must grant relief if (1) the convicted person files an application asserting that the relevant forensic evidence is currently available and was not ascertainable through the exercise of reasonable diligence by the convicted person before or during trial or before the date of entry of a plea, (2) the application is accompanied by an affidavit from a forensic expert that satisfies certain requirements, and (3) the court determines that, had the evidence been presented at a trial, there is a reasonable likelihood that the result at trial would have been different or that the convicted person

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

    Adopted in lieu of the original bill SB 58, and Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO POSTCONVICTION REMEDY.
This Act provides a remedy for convicted persons relating to changes in forensic scientific or technical information. Specifically, a convicted person may apply to the Superior Court for relief if certain forensic scientific information was not available to be offered by the convicted person prior to the conviction or if it undermines forensic scientific evidence that was presented at trial. The court must grant relief if (1) the convicted person files an application asserting that the relevant forensic evidence is currently available and was not ascertainable through the exercise of reasonable diligence by the convicted person before or during trial or before the date of entry of a plea, (2) the application is accompanied by an affidavit from a forensic expert that satisfies certain requirements, and (3) the court determines that, had the evidence been presented at a trial, there is a reasonable likelihood that the result at trial would have been different or that the convicted person