Delaware General Assembly

Signed 7/13/04

The General Assembly has ended, the current status is the final status.

4/6/04

VanSant

Sen. Amick, Henry, Sorenson, Still
Reps. Atkins, Buckworth, Ennis, Ewing, Fallon, Hall-Long, Lee, Maier, Mulrooney, Plant, Schwartzkopf, Thornburg

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 11 AND 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO TONGUE SPLITTING.

This Act creates the crimes of Tongue Splitting in the first degree and Tongue Splitting in the second degree. Tongue splitting in the first degree is a Class A misdemeanor. A person is guilty of Tongue Splitting in the first degree if the person is neither a licensed physician nor a licensed dentist and he or she performs an act of tongue splitting on another person in the State. Tongue Splitting in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor. A person is guilty of Tongue Splitting in the second degree if the person performs an act of Tongue Splitting on another person in the State and the person on whom the act of tongue splitting is performed is either under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance or is a minor and the person failed to obtain the prior written and notarized consent of the minor’s adult parent or legal guardian to the specific act of tongue splitting. In all cases of a second or subsequent violation of this Act a person is guilty of a Class G Felony. In prosecutions for violations of this Act brought on an allegation that a person performed an act of tongue splitting on a minor without the prior written and notarized consent of the minor’s adult parent, this Act establishes an affirmative defense that the minor presented a piece of photo identification that would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the minor was the person pictured on the identification and that he or she was 18 years of age or older In addition to the criminal provisions created by this Act, this Act provides that an act constituting Tongue Splitting in the first degree also constitutes practicing both medicine and dentistry without a license and that nothing in this Act prohibits prosecution under the relevant provisions of Title 24 relating to the practice of medicine without a license, or the practice of dentistry without a license, or both. In addition to the penalties set forth in this Act, any person who has performed an act of tongue splitting in violation of this Act shall be held liable in a civil action, brought by any person aggrieved by such act, for actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater; plus reasonable court costs and attorney fees. For the purposes of this Act ‘tongue splitting’ means the act of cutting a human tongue into two or more parts giving it a forked or multi-tipped appearance.

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Takes effect upon being signed into law

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