Supreme Court of Delaware
In Re Request for an Opinion of the Justices of the Delaware Supreme Court Regarding House Bills Nos. 134 and 135 Of…
January 23, 20122012 Del. LEXIS 187
Summary
The Delaware Supreme Court advised that House Bills 134 and 135 would be constitutional if enacted. The Bills restrict certain traffic prosecutions to Justice of the Peace Courts, where jury trials and law-trained judges are not guaranteed, but the offenses carry penalties below the constitutional thresholds for a jury trial and do not implicate a due-process right to a law-trained judge. The different appellate rights associated with Justice of the Peace Courts and Alderman’s Courts also satisfy equal protection because they are rationally related to legitimate administrative and judicial-efficiency purposes.