SPONSOR:

Sen. Sokola & Sen. Townsend & Sen. Lockman & Rep. Minor-Brown & Rep. Harris & Rep. Osienski & Sen. Pettyjohn

Sens. Brown, Buckson, Cruce, Hansen, Hocker, Hoffner, Huxtable, Lawson, Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pinkney, Poore, Richardson, Seigfried, Sturgeon, Walsh, Wilson

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE BILL NO. 157

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROVIDING FOR AN ADDITIONAL FAMILY COURT JUDGE IN SUSSEX COUNTY.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend § 906, Title 10 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 906. Judges; selection; designation; qualifications; terms; vacancies; salaries.

(b) The Court shall be composed of 17 Judges 18 Judges of equal judicial authority. One Judge shall be the Chief Judge. No more than a majority of 1 Judge shall be members of the same political party.

(e) All of the Judges shall be residents of the State for a period of 5 years immediately prior to their appointment. The Chief Judge may reside in any county of the State. After appointment, 10 of the Judges shall reside in New Castle County, 3 Judges shall reside in Kent County, and 3 Judges 4 Judges shall reside in Sussex County.

SYNOPSIS

This Act increases the total number of Family Court judges from 17 to 18 to provide for 1 additional judge in Sussex County, which was funded in the fiscal year 2025 budget signed by the Governor on June 30, 2024.

Author: Senator Sokola