Delaware Code

10 Del. C. § 2004 (2026)

Authority of Chief Justice to declare a judicial emergency; contents of order; duration of order

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) The Chief Justice shall, in consultation with those other members of the Supreme Court who are available, have the authority, by order, to declare a judicial emergency when the Chief Justice determines that there are emergency circumstances affecting 1 or more court facilities or the ability to staff 1 or more court facilities. This determination shall be based upon emergency circumstances, including but not limited to, terrorist events, enemy attack, sabotage, or other hostile action or from disease, fire, flood, earthquake, accident, or other natural or manmade causes resulting in the destruction of or severe damage to courthouses, the ability to access courthouses, or the ability to staff courts.

(b) The order declaring a judicial emergency shall specify:

(1) The court or courts and facilities affected by the order;

(2) The nature of the emergency necessitating the order;

(3) The time period or duration of the judicial emergency; and

(4) Any other information relevant to the suspension or restoration of court operations, such as relocation of the court to another county or extensions of deadlines.

(c) An order declaring the existence of a judicial emergency shall be limited to an initial duration of not more than 30 days; provided, however, that the order may be modified or extended for additional periods of 30 days each. Any modification or extension of the initial order shall require information regarding the same matters set forth in subsection (b) of this section for the issuance of the initial order.

77 Del. Laws, c. 30, § 1;

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2020–2021 · leading case: State v. Rodriguez (Del. Super. Ct. 2021).

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State v. Rodriguez (Del. Super. Ct. 2021). · cites it 2× “7 10 Del. C. Section 2004 states in full: § 2004.”

Brown v. RCD Timber Prods., Inc. (Del. Super. Ct. 2020). “Per Administrative Directives of the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware and the Delaware Superior Court, and the national and local states of emergency, “[u]nder the authority of 10 Del. C. § 2004, the judicial emergency for all State courts and their facilities in Delaware…”

State v. York-James (Del. Super. Ct. 2020). “Per Administrative Directives of the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware and the Delaware Superior Court, and the national and local states of emergency, “[u]nder the authority of 10 Del. C. § 2004, the judicial emergency for all State courts and their facilities in Delaware…”

Harris v. Delaware Dep't of Labor (Del. Super. Ct. 2020). “15 The United States of America and the State of Delaware declared states of emergency due to COVID-19 that resulted in court closures to address public safety concerns.”

State v. Thomas (Del. Super. Ct. 2021). “By excluding jury trials from the proceedings for which audiovisual devices 12 See 10 Del. C. § 2004(a) (giving the Chief Justice the authority to declare a judicial emergency when there are “emergency circumstances, including .”

— 10 Del. C. § 2004(a) — 2 cases

State v. Rodriguez (Del. Super. Ct. 2021). “7 10 Del. C. Section 2004 states in full: § 2004.”

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