Delaware · House Bill 129 · 153rd General Assembly

Motion to Transfer/Appeals of Court Decisions

  1. Introduced May 1, 2025
  2. In committee May 1, 2025
  3. Passed the House May 15, 2025
  4. Passed the Senate Jun 24, 2025
  5. To the governor  
  6. Became law Aug 20, 2025

What it does

The legislature's own summary of the bill, or its official long title.

Currently, if a child’s criminal case is transferred by the Family Court to Superior Court, or if a child files an application in Superior Court to have their criminal case transferred to Family Court and the Superior Court denies the application, there is no recourse for appeal until the child’s criminal case is finally adjudicated in Superior Court. In State v. Roberts, Del.Supr. 282 A.2nd 603 (1971) the Delaware…

Read the full title (204 words)

Currently, if a child’s criminal case is transferred by the Family Court to Superior Court, or if a child files an application in Superior Court to have their criminal case transferred to Family Court and the Superior Court denies the application, there is no recourse for appeal until the child’s criminal case is finally adjudicated in Superior Court. In State v. Roberts, Del.Supr. 282 A.2nd 603 (1971) the Delaware Supreme Court stated its jurisdiction over such appeals by an accused, may only be by operation of law. This Act permits the child to enter a plea of guilty or nolo contendere and appeal an amenability denial to the Delaware Supreme Court within 30 days of being sentenced by the Superior Court. This Act also prohibits any plea being conditioned on waiving this right of appeal. This Act also clarifies that the Superior Court will not retain jurisdiction over the child if the Supreme Court reverses the Superior Court’s Order. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform with H.B. 115 of the 151st General Assembly, which was enacted into law on November 8, 2021 and prohibited transfers to Superior Court for children under the age of 16 in all but the most serious offenses.

Every action

7 steps, oldest first, as the legislature records them.

  1. CommitteeIntroduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House · House Judiciary
  2. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 9 On Its Merits · House Judiciary
  3. HousePassed By House. Votes: 33 YES 8 ABSENT33–0 vote
  4. CommitteeAssigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate · Senate Judiciary
  5. CommitteeReported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits · Senate Judiciary
  6. SenatePassed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES21–0 vote
  7. GovernorSigned by Governor

Roll calls

2 recorded votes: 2 on the floor, 0 in committee. Each shows how every member voted.

Sponsors

The member who introduced it, joined by 5 cosponsors: 5 Democrats.

All 5 cosponsors

From Delaware's official records (legis.delaware.gov), checked Nov 1, 2026. Text links go to the official versions; LegiList does not copy bill text.