2023 Delaware Code › Title 11 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure › Chapter 96. PROTECTION OF WITNESSES AND CRIME VICTIMS › Subchapter I. Protection of Witnesses › § 9602. Civil judgments.

§ 9602. Civil judgments.
(a) If a person provided services which include the establishment of a new identity and/or new place of permanent residence under this subchapter is named as a defendant in a civil cause of action arising prior to or during the period in which the services are provided, process in the civil proceeding may be served upon that person or an agent designated by that person for that purpose. The Attorney General shall make reasonable efforts to serve a copy of the process upon the person protected at the person's last known address. The Attorney General shall notify the plaintiff in the action whether such process has been served. If a judgment in such action is entered against that person, the Attorney General shall determine whether the person has made reasonable efforts to comply with the judgment. The Attorney General shall take appropriate steps to urge the person to comply with the judgment. If the Attorney General determines that the person has not made reasonable efforts to comply with the judgment, the Attorney General may, after considering the danger to the person and upon the request of the person holding the judgment, disclose the identity and location of the person to the plaintiff entitled to recovery pursuant to the judgment. Any such disclosure of the identity and location of the person shall be made upon the express condition that further disclosure by the plaintiff of such identity or location may be made only if essential to the plaintiff's efforts to recover under the judgment, and only to such additional persons as is necessary to effect the recovery.
Any such disclosure or nondisclosure by the Attorney General shall not subject the State and its officers or employees to any civil liability.
(b) (1) Any person who holds a judgment entered by a federal or state court in that person's favor against a person provided services which include the establishment of a new identity and/or a new place of employment under this subchapter may, upon a decision by the Attorney General to deny disclosure of the current identity and location of such person, bring an action against the person in the Superior Court. Such action shall be brought within 120 days after the petitioner requested the Attorney General to disclose the identity and location of the person to whom services have been provided under this subchapter. The complaint in such action shall contain statements that the petitioner holds a valid judgment of a federal or state court against a person provided services under this subchapter and that the petitioner sought to enforce the judgment by requesting the Attorney General to disclose the identity and location of such person.
(2) The petitioner in an action described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall notify the Attorney General of the action at the same time the action is brought. The Attorney General shall appear in the action and shall affirm or deny the statements in the complaint that the person against whom the judgment is allegedly held is provided services under this subchapter and that the petitioner requested the Attorney General to disclose the identity and location of such person for the purpose of enforcing the judgment.
(3) Upon a determination:
a. That the petitioner holds a judgment entered by a federal or state court; and
b. That the Attorney General has declined to disclose to the petitioner the current identify and location of the person against whom the judgment was entered,
the court shall appoint a guardian to act on behalf of the petitioner to enforce the judgment. The clerk of the court shall forthwith furnish the guardian with a copy of the order of appointment. The Attorney General shall disclose to the guardian the current identity and location of the person to whom services have been provided and any other information necessary to enable the guardian to carry out that guardian's duties under this subsection.
(4) It is the duty of the guardian to proceed with all reasonable diligence and dispatch to enforce the rights of the petitioner under the judgment. The guardian shall, however, endeavor to carry out such enforcement duties in a manner that maximizes, to the extent practicable, the safety and security of the person to whom services have been provided under this subchapter. In no event shall the guardian disclose the new identity or location of such person without the permission of the Attorney General, except that such disclosure may be made to a federal or state court in order to enforce the judgment. Any good faith disclosure made by the guardian in the performance of the guardian's duties under this subsection shall not create any civil liability against the State or any of its officers or employees, or the guardian.
(5) Upon appointment, the guardian shall have the power to perform any act with respect to the judgment which the petitioner could perform, including the initiation of judicial enforcement actions in any federal or state court or the assignment of such enforcement actions to a third party under applicable federal or state law. The Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure shall apply in any action brought under this subsection to enforce a federal or state court judgment.
(6) The cost of any action brought under this subsection with respect to a judgment, including any enforcement action described herein, and the compensation to be allowed to a guardian appointed in any such action shall be fixed by the court and shall be apportioned among the parties as follows:
a. The petitioner shall be assessed the amount the petitioner would have paid to collect on the judgment in an action not arising under the provisions of this subsection; and
b. The protected person shall be assessed the costs which are normally charged to debtors in similar actions and any other costs which are incurred as a result of an action brought under this subsection.
In the event that the costs and compensation to the guardian are not met by the petitioner or by the protected person, the court may, in its discretion, enter judgment against the state for costs and fees reasonably incurred as a result of the action brought under this subsection.
(7) No officer or employee of the Department of Justice shall in any way impede the efforts of a guardian appointed under this subsection to enforce the judgment with respect to which the guardian was appointed.
(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a court order to which § 9603 of this title applies.
74 Del. Laws, c. 57, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  78 Del. Laws, c. 28, §  1;