CHAPTER 354
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 487
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO HABEAS CORPUS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend Title 10 of the Delaware Code by striking § 6901 in its entirety and by inserting in lieu thereof a new section to read:
"§ 6901. Jurisdiction To Grant Writs.
The writ of habeas corpus shall be awarded and issued by the Superior Court except in cases involving child support enforcement in which case the writ shall be awarded and issued by the Family Court. The writ may also be awarded and issued by the Family Court in other cases which are otherwise within its jurisdiction. A petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus may be reviewed and decided by the judge issuing the order incarcerating the petitioner in the first instance."
Section 2. Amend § 6903 of Title 10 of the Delaware Code by deleting subsection (a) in its entirety and by inserting in lieu thereof a new subsection to read:
"(a) A person committed by any judge of this State, a justice of the peace, or by the mayor or any Alderman of any city or town, for a contempt, except a contempt issued by the Family Court in a case involving a child support order, shall be entitled to the writ of habeas corpus in the Superior Court. A person committed by the Family Court in a case involving a child support order shall be entitled to the writ of habeas corpus in the Family Court of the State of Delaware."
Approved June 5, 1996