legislative results

The final day of Delaware's legislative session has come and gone, and a number of bills passed which will change Delaware's legal landscape. The ones receiving the most attention involve criminal law. One bill will shift the role of a jury, in death penalty cases, from an advisory body to the finder of fact making the final decision regarding whether the sentence is death. That bill has already seen some debate amongst members of the bar. Another law involving the death penalty would allow defense to raise the the issue that the defendant is mentally retarded, to avoid that sentence.

DNA testing will become a reality for all defendants who have been convicted of a felony. A database will be maintained of that genetic information and will be shared with other states.