The Delaware State Courts will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th for Election Day. Justice of the Peace Court 11 (New Castle County) and Court 7 (Kent County) will remain open 24 hours and Justice of the Peace Court 3 (Sussex County) will be open from 6AM – 12PM (no new cases after 11:00PM).

Sussex County Courts including Justice of the Peace Court 2, 4, and 17 will be closing at noon on Thursday, November 7th for Return Day. JP Court 14 will be closed the entire day due to proximity to Return Day events.

  1. Delaware Courts
  2. Family Court

Family Court History


The Family Court of the State of Delaware has its origin in the Juvenile Court for the City of Wilmington which was founded in 1911. A little over a decade later, in 1923, the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court for the City of Wilmington was extended to include New Castle County. In 1933, the Juvenile Court for Kent and Sussex Counties was created. From the early 1930's there was a campaign to establish a Family Court in the northernmost county, and this ideal was achieved in 1945 when the Legislature created the Family Court for New Castle County, Delaware. In 1951, legislation was enacted to give the Juvenile Court for Kent and Sussex Counties jurisdiction over all family matters, and in early 1962 the name of the Juvenile Court for Kent and Sussex Counties was changed to the Family Court for Kent and Sussex Counties. As early as the 1950's the concept of a statewide Family Court had been endorsed. The fruition of this concept was realized with the statutory authorization of the Family Court of the State of Delaware in 1971. In 2005, the Delaware Constitution was amended to include Family Court as a constitutional court.