A pilot policy allowing cell phones in Delaware courts is now permanent.
The pilot program started in select family and Justice of the Peace courts in 2022, expanding to all courthouses in 2023, and will be a fixed policy statewide starting August 7.
Family Court Chief Judge Michael Newell was a key driver in launching the pilot program, noting many litigants represent themselves.
“Attorneys, the people from the Division of Family Services, the Department of Justice, the Public Defender’s office or Office of Defense services, they all were allowed to bring their phones in and the only people who couldn’t were the public and the litigants," Newell says.
Newell says allowing the public to bring cell phones and other personal electronic devices inside court facilities is increasing access to justice. And since the pilot kicked off, there have been limited incidents regarding safety and disruptions.
“A lot of them were just disrupting, the phone going off in the courtroom when people had not turned it off," Newell says. "We had a couple little more serious issues where people tried to take a picture of a witness, however, that was noted and handled accordingly.”
Newell says the pilot period allowed officials to assess those risks and safety concerns that cell phones and PED’s could pose, but adds the benefits far outweigh them.
“The two issues that we balanced really were access to justice and security," Newell says. "Those are the two common themes when we talked to or looked at other jurisdictions. And it was not any different for Delaware.”
Newell adds he thinks allowing the public to bring their devices makes them less anxious in the courtroom.
The public can make phone calls and access the internet and other public information in court facilities but are not allowed to take photos, video or audio recordings, other than photographing and scanning public court documents in clerks’ offices.
