After state officials earlier this month greeted with praise a new law that streamlines the process for prosecuting misdemeanor cases of driving under the influence, criminal defense attorneys were advocating for more sweeping changes that would consolidate the entire process in the Delaware Court of Common Pleas.
Introduced as HB 207, the law addressed a provision of Delaware code that allowed DUI defendants convicted of their first or second offense in Justice of the Peace Court to have their cases retried on the merits in Court of Common Pleas. Now, the Justice of the Peace will still accept guilty pleas, but only the Court of Common Pleas will conduct trials for those who decide to take their cases to court.
