DE Criminal Records Quest Continues

DE Criminal Records Quest Continues

Following a second vote at the end of January, the Delaware Justice Information System (DELJIS) agreed to turn over some of the information requested by The News Journal as part of a three-year effort to gain access to criminal statistical information.

There is still a dispute, according to attorney Richard Elliott, Jr., of Richards, Layton and Finger. DELJIS is willing to give case information, but is unwilling to link the cases to the defendants by ID numbers, either random or assigned, he said. This prevents the newspaper from using the data for any reasonable form of analysis.

In addition, DELJIS has filed for a Declaratory Judgment Action in which it is trying to get a ruling from the Delaware Superior Court on whether it is acceptable to provide the random numbers requested. A hearing date had not been set, said Elliott.

This second vote was the most recent action in a long struggle by The News Journal. In 1993, the paper requested statistical information held by DELJIS about every criminal conviction since 1972. The request was denied on the claim that criminal records are exempt from the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.

The newspaper sued the agency in an attempt to gain access. The Superior Court decided the case in favor of the state without setting a trial date and the appeals court upheld the lower court.

In December, The News Journal was working toward an out of court settlement with the agency. The DELJIS Executive Board voted 5-3 to release the computerized records. Then the board said new information had been offered and a second vote was needed.