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Senate Judiciary Committee hears bill to align Delaware stalking law with Counterman ruling and raise penalties
Summary
The Delaware Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed House Bill 197 to add a recklessness standard to the stalking statute (to conform with Counterman v. Colorado) and increase penalties for certain stalking offenses; prosecutors and victim‑advocacy groups urged support; the committee took no vote.
The Senate Judiciary Committee considered House Bill 197 on Wednesday, a proposal to amend Title 11 of the Delaware Code to add a recklessness standard for threatening conduct and to increase penalties for stalking offenses.
Senator Sturgeon, the Senate sponsor, said the change is intended "to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Counterman v. Colorado" and to give the state tools to protect victims. She told the committee the bill would raise non‑aggravated stalking from a class G felony (current maximum two years) to a class E penalty (up to five years), and increase certain aggravated stalking to a class D felony to permit longer terms and supervision.
Jenna Malecki, a deputy attorney general with the Department of Justice, spoke from prosecutorial experience and described stalking as "a course of conduct. It is not a single incident." She said the bill adds the recklessness element required by Counterman while separately increasing penalties to allow sentences focused on victim safety and supervision. Malecki estimated stalking complaints are "about 1,600,000" annually nationwide and cited that intimate‑partner stalking often precedes more serious violence; Senator Sturgeon and the sponsors referenced statistics they said link stalking to femicide and attempted homicide.
Committee members pressed for data and clarification. Senator Pinkney asked how often stalking prosecutions are pled down versus pursued as felonies; Malecki said she did not have statewide numbers available, described local prioritization and observed a recent trend toward prosecuting stalking as felonies when appropriate. Senator Hoffman asked why the amendment removes the word "tracks"; Malecki explained the provision refers to the offender's "course of conduct" (tracking a victim) and that separate vehicle‑tracking misdemeanors already exist.
Advocacy groups voiced support during public comment. Angela Seguin, executive director of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, said stalking has profound impacts — "They live hunted" — and that her organization supports the bill. Deanna Tyree McDuffie, director of advocacy and policy at the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, described common stalking tactics and cited National Stalking Resource Center figures on the overlap between stalking and partner‑perpetrated physical assault.
No committee vote on HB 197 was recorded at the hearing. The chair said paperwork for the bill would be circulated for signature by staff member Ikeisha Stuckey, and he adjourned the committee after public comment.
The committee discussed next steps and data requests; members asked staff and DOJ to provide comparative state responses to Counterman and any available statewide statistics on stalking prosecutions. The bill remains under the committee's consideration pending any additional materials requested by members.
