Delaware Remove Right to Bail for Certain Felony Offenses Amendment (2025)
| Delaware Remove Right to Bail for Certain Felony Offenses Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ratification date June 30, 2025 | |
| Topic Bail policy | |
| Sponsor State Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-11) |
The Delaware Require Reconfirmation of Executive Officials Amendment was approved by the Delaware General Assembly and added to the Delaware Constitution on June 30, 2025.
The amendment removes the constitutional right to bail for specified offenses.
Overview
What did this constitutional amendment do?
- See also: Text of measure
The amendment removes a defendant's right to bail if they are accused of specified felony offenses.[1] The amendment does not list non-bailable felony offenses; instead, the Delaware General Assembly has the ability to create or amend a list of specified offenses.
A judge would not be authorized to deny a defendant bail solely based on the accusation of a felony offense specified by the general assembly as non-bailable. Instead, for a judge to deny a defendant bail, two conditions must be met:[1]
- The presumption of guilt is great; and
- There is clear and convincing evidence that releasing the defendant on bail would result in their absence from court proceedings, endanger the safety of the community, or lead to the obstruction of the justice system.
Who supported this constitutional amendment?
State Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-11) introduced versions of the constitutional amendment to the Delaware General Assembly for their consideration. The legislature approved both versions of the amendment with a Bipartisan Partisan Directional Index.
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article I, Delaware Constitution
The amendment changed Section 12 of Article I of the Delaware Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:
Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
§ 12. Right to bail; access to accused.
Section 12. (a) All prisoners shall persons, before conviction, shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for except as follows:
- (1) For capital offenses when the proof is positive or the presumption
great;great.
- (2) For other felony offenses that the General Assembly expressly prescribes by law when all of the following apply:
- a. The proof is positive or the presumption great.
- b. The proof is clear and convincing that no condition or combination of conditions of release will do all of the following:
- 1. Reasonably assure the person’s appearance at court proceedings.
- 2. Reasonably assure the protection of the community, victims, witnesses, or any other person.
- 3. Reasonably maintain the integrity of the judicial process, such that the person will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice.
- c. The law designating a felony offense for which a person is potentially not bailable under this paragraph (a)(2) is enacted by an act of the General Assembly that receives the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly.
(b) If a law designates a felony offense as potentially not bailable under paragraph (a)(2) of this Section, a law removing that designation must be enacted by an act of the General Assembly that receives the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected to each House of the General Assembly.
(c) and when When persons are confined before conviction on accusation for such offenses any offense, their friends and counsel may at proper seasons may, on reasonable conditions, have access to them.[2]
Full text
The full text of the measure can be found here.
Amending the Delaware Constitution
The Delaware General Assembly has the authority to amend the state constitution. Unlike in any other state, the state legislature can amend the constitution without a vote of the people. For the legislature to amend the constitution:
- two-thirds of all the members elected to each chamber must vote in favor of a proposed amendment;
- the Delaware Secretary of State must then disseminate the text of the proposed amendment to the general public between 90 and 120 days before the next general election; and
- the subsequent General Assembly then votes again on the proposed amendment(s) and if an amendment receives two-thirds majority approval of all members of each chamber, it becomes part of the constitution.
The amendment in the Delaware General Assembly
Senate Bill 11 (2025)
State Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-11) introduced the amendment to the state legislature on January 3, 2025. The state Senate passed the amendment on January 21 in a vote of 19-0. On June 30, the state House passed the amendment in a vote of 32-5, with three representatives absent or otherwise not voting.[3]
| Votes Required to Pass: 14 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 19 | 0 | 0 |
| Total % | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Democratic (D) | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican (R) | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Votes Required to Pass: 28 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 32 | 5 | 3 |
| Total % | 80.0% | 12.5% | 7.5% |
| Democratic (D) | 19 | 5 | 2 |
| Republican (R) | 13 | 0 | 1 |
Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 11 (2024)
On May 21, 2024, state Sen. Bryan Townsend (D-11) introduced the amendment to the state legislature as Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 11. On May 22, the state Senate passed the amendment in a vote of 20-0, with one senator not voting. On June 30, the state House passed the amendment in a vote of 32-8, with one representative not voting.[4]
| Votes Required to Pass: 14 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 20 | 0 | 1 |
| Total % | 95.2% | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| Democratic (D) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican (R) | 5 | 0 | 1 |
| Votes Required to Pass: 28 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 32 | 8 | 1 |
| Total % | 78.0% | 19.5% | 2.4% |
| Democratic (D) | 17 | 8 | 1 |
| Republican (R) | 15 | 0 | 0 |
See also
- The Delaware Constitution
- Amending the Delaware Constitution
- State constitutional conventions
- Other constitutional amendments concerning bail policy
External links
- Delaware General Assembly - Senate Bill 11 (2025)
- Delaware General Assembly - Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 11 (2024)
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Delaware State Legislature, "Senate Bill 11," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
- ↑ Delaware General Assembly, "Senate Bill 11," accessed October 2, 2025
- ↑ Delaware General Assembly, "Substitute 1 for Senate Bill 11," accessed October 2, 2025
