SPONSOR:

Rep. Valihura & Sen. Vaughn

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

142nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE BILL NO. 309

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE 1, § 6 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF DELAWARE OF 1897, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO SEARCHES AND SEIZURES.

WHEREAS, it is important that citizens of Delaware have the protection of both their constitutional liberties and their personal safety; and

WHEREAS, prior to October, 2000, police officers in Delaware who gathered evidence in good faith reliance on a search warrant signed by a judge or magistrate were permitted to use that evidence, even if the search warrant was later determined to be invalid; and

WHEREAS this rule was established by the United States Supreme Court, which held that the purposes of the search and seizure clause of the United States Constitution were not served by punishing police officers who had acted in good faith reliance on an order issued by a court; and

WHEREAS Delaware courts have concluded that the Delaware Constitution does not permit police officers acting in good faith to use such evidence; and

WHEREAS a proper balance between civil liberties and personal safety should permit police officers acting in good faith on a warrant issued by a court to use the evidence gathered in reliance on that warrant;

WHEREAS, it is the purpose and intent of this General Assembly to modify the provisions of the Constitution of Delaware in order to provide protections against unreasonable searches and seizures at the State level that are identical to those provided by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution at the federal level; and

WHEREAS, it is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly in adopting this Constitutional Amendment that the Courts of this State interpret this provision as guarantying protections which are neither more nor less expansive than those guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution;

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Section 1. Amend Article I of the Constitution of the State of Delaware of 1897, as amended, by striking § 6 thereof in its entirety and by substituting in lieu thereof the following:

"§ 6. Searches and seizures.

Section 6. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

SYNOPSIS

This Act modifies Delaware's constitutional provision protecting citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures so that it is identical to the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Recent decisions by the Delaware Supreme Court have indicated that protections granted in the Delaware Constitution may vary from those guaranteed by the United States Constitution because our provisions predate the federal constitution and are only similar, but not identical, to the federal provisions. This Act is intended to ensure that the provisions of the Delaware Constitution governing searches and seizures are identical to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and that the protections and rights which this provision guarantees are equal to those provided by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution as it is, has been, and will be interpreted from time to time by the Courts of the United States.