Press Releases and News Archives
Current and past press releases are available under the Press Releases tab. Items under the announcements tabs are for historical purposes only. Links within the announcements may be outdated or no longer available.
Press Releases
Announcements 2024-2018
2024 Archives
Justice of the Peace Court 3 in Georgetown to Change Hours of Operation
Effective March 3, 2024, Justice of the Peace Court 3 in Georgetown, Delaware, will be reducing its hours as part of a pilot program. The court will be open from 6:00 a.m. – midnight daily and will be staffed with judicial officers from 8:00 a.m. – midnight. The court will not accept new cases after 11:00 p.m. and all in-person and virtual activity after 11:00 p.m. should be directed to Justice of the Peace Court 7, 480 Bank Lane, Dover, Delaware.
Justice of the Peace Court Call Center Logs One Million Calls
This month the Justice of the Peace Court’s eight-year-old call center – set up to improve access for the public and increase efficiency for court staff – received its one millionth call, a significant milestone and proof that the center is fulfilling its mission. The Mark E. Hitch Information Center was created in 2015 to improve access for the public and allow staff at courthouses to focus on in-person clients.
Justice of the Peace Court Management Analyst Charlotte Walsh Named 2023 Judicial Branch Employee of the Year
Charlotte, who has been with the Justice of the Peace Court for more than 34 years, started as a clerk in 1989, worked her way up through the ranks to Judicial Case Processor – where she oversaw the clerical staff – and then to Management Analyst III. Charlotte’s contributions may not be visible to the general public, but her work is well known to both court management and her peers and is critical to the court’s everyday operations. Justice of the Peace Court Management Analyst Charlotte Walsh Named 2023 Judicial Branch Employee of the Year
2023 Archives
Updated JP Criminal Form 51 “Request to Transfer from VAC”
Effective 8/1/23 - JP Criminal Form 51 is used to request the transfer of a Voluntary Assessment ticket, or mail-in fine, to a court location for a hearing. Once the Voluntary Assessment Center receives the JP Criminal Form 51 request, they will transfer the case to the appropriate location for the hearing as indicated on the request form. Once the case is transferred, the fine amount due is put on hold pending the final disposition of the case and cannot be paid to avoid attending the newly scheduled court date. The requestor of the transfer will receive a notice to appear at the appropriate court of jurisdiction on a scheduled date and time. Any further communication regarding the transferred case should be sent to that court location.
Updated Civil Form No. 50 Certificate of Representation for an Artificial Entity or Public Body
Effective 11/28/23 – The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Certificate of Representation for an Artificial Entity or Public Body (Form 50) document. The court removed the principle office address and added an optional field requesting the number of units owned or managed by the entity. Please use this new form in place of any old copies of the form 50 you may be using.
Updated Standard E-Filing Rejection Reasons List (Civil)
Effective October 16, 2023 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Standard E-Filing Rejection Reasons List with the following item “WHEN USING A FILLABLE FORM, FILL THE FORM AND SAVE A COPY TO YOUR PC SO YOU CAN EDIT IT LATER IF NEEDED. THEN SELECT PRINT AND SELECT "ADOBE PDF" AS THE PRINTER. THIS WILL SAVE A NON-EDITABLE PDF VERSION OF THE DOCUMENT TO YOUR PC AND IS THE VERSION YOU SHOULD ATTACH TO YOUR FILING.” This update is to protect your filing documents from being updated by the court and/or other parties.
Updated Civil Form No. 49 Application and Affidavit To Proceed In Forma Pauperis
Effective February 20, 2023 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their JP Civil Form No. 49 Application and Affidavit to Proceed In Forma Pauperis and Order to make it more user-friendly for self-represented litigants.
Updated Civil Form 58 Subpoena in a Civil Case
Effective February 17, 2023 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Subpoena in a Civil Case CF58. Subpoena now includes wording to include ZOOM hearings and ZOOM link information.
Updated Civil Form 31 Service for Non-Residents Instructions
Effective February 16, 2023 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Service for Non-Residents Instructions document CF31. See last page, item (C) “If Form 31A (Affidavit of Service) is not returned to the Court within 365 days (1 year), the case may be dismissed by the Court.
Updated Form 50 Instruction Document
Effective February 15, 2023 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Certificate Representation Artificial Entity (Form 50) Instruction document CF50I. The instructions now include a reminder on the last page that all Form 50 agents MUST submit an approved Form 50 with all filings to the Court and to bring a copy of the approved Form 50 to every court appearance.
2022 Archives
Changes For JP Court 9 (Debt And Trespass Filings)
Effective January 1, 2022 — Justice of the Peace Court 9 located in Middletown Delaware will no longer be accepting Debt and Trespass filings of any kind in person or electronically. Moving forward any NEW debt or trespass filings will need to be filed with Justice of the Peace Court 13 located in New Castle Delaware. Any debt or trespass cases that have already been filed prior to 2022 at Court 9 will be completed at Court 9 and all additional filings on those cases can still be filed in person or electronically for Justice of the Peace Court 9.
2021 Archives
New Form 50 Documents and Procedures
Effective December 15, 2021 — The Justice of the Peace Court is committed to safeguarding the payment data of filers and other parties. Accordingly, the Court will no longer accept Form 50 applications and payments via e-mail. This change in policy is necessary to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which was created to protect cardholder data and reduce credit card fraud. For more information on these changes go to the JP Court Form 50 page. In addition, the Justice of the Peace has updated the ‘Certificate of Representation for an Artificial Entity or Public Body’ (CF50); the application is now separate from the instructions (CF50I); and the notarial requirement has been reinstated on the Form 50. Visit the eFlex Training page and refer to Modules 2, 4, and 4a for more details.
Updated Debit Account Replenishment Authorization Form (MISC31)
Effective November 30, 2021 —Attention, Court Debit Account holders: The Justice of the Peace Court has revised its Debit Account Replenishment Authorization Form (MISC31), which is available on the Court’s website under Forms. The Court has established a CENTRAL FAX NUMBER to receive these forms. Faxes will no longer be accepted at individual Justice of the Peace Court locations. However, forms may still be submitted in person or by mail to those locations.
Updated JP Civil Fees List
Effective November 5, 2021 —The Justice of the Peace Court has updated our JP Civil Fees list. These updates include items that were missing from our original list and a few changes in the cost of some items. Go to JP Civil Fee list for updates.
Standing Order No. 7 Concerning Lifting Of COVID-19 Judicial Emergency
July 15, 2021—Justice of the Peace Court issues new standing order concerning lifting of COVID-19 Judicial Emergency.
2020 Archives
Standing Order No. 6 Concerning COVID-19 Precautionary Measures
December 14, 2020—Justice of the Peace Court issues new standing order to help limit the spread of COVID-19 virus and serve in a continuous capacity during times of emergency in order to ensure that emergency and essential functions of the judicial system may continue.
Justice of the Peace Court Form 50 Procedures update
Effective Monday, November 30, 2020 the Justice of the Peace Court will implement new procedures and a new option for filing a Certificate of Representation For An Artificial Entity or Public Body, more commonly known as the Form 50. The notarial requirement has been replaced with an affirmation under penalty of perjury and/or termination of representation privileges. To see complete details of all changes go to FORM 50 information page.
Justice of the Peace Court Increase Civil Jurisdiction to $25,000
Effective November 23, 2020 —The Governor signed House Bill 232 (AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 AND TITLE 25 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO JURISDICTION OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT AND SUMMARY POSSESSION). This Act both raises the jurisdictional limit of the Justice of the Peace Court to $25,000 and allows the Justice of the Peace to consider claims in excess of the jurisdictional limit where the underlying matter involves a commercial tenancy and possession of the rental unit is at issue.
Updated AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE CARES ACT form (CF71)
Effective July 13, 2020 —The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Affidavit in Support of Compliance with the Cares Act Form CF71 by adding an option to select regarding a rules violation. You can find this form on our website under forms. Please discontinue use of this form dated prior to 7/13/20.
Updated Complaint Form (CF01)
Effective May 22, 2020 — The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Complaint Form CF01. You can find this form on our website under forms. Please replace any older versions of this document.
2019 Archives
E-Filing at the Justice of the Peace Court
Effective July 8, 2019 – The Justice of the Peace Court has updated its Policy Directive regarding e-filing. Please review Policy Directive 08-232 (1st) for changes in Training, Fees and Time of eFiling. The Court has updated the list of reasons that a filing maybe rejected by the court. Review the rejected reason list prior to submitting your filing to avoid delays in the acceptance of your filing.
Updated Garnishment form (CF17)
Effective March 6, 2019 – The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Garnishment form CF17. You can find this form on our website under forms. Please replace any older versions of this document with the revision date of 9/5/18.
2018 Archives
New Request for forthwith summons
Effective August 29, 2018—The Justice of the Peace Court has created a new form CF01FS REQUEST FOR FORTHWITH SUMMONS. Filers can use this form when they are requesting a forthwith hearing. You can find this form under forms on our website.
Updated Counter-Cross Claim form (CF01CC)
Effective August 29, 2018—The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Counter claim and Cross Claim form CF01CC. You can find this form on our website under forms. Please replace any older versions with the revision date of 3/1/18.
The days of operation for Justice of the Peace Court 8 to change
Effective Tuesday, September 4, 2018, the days of operation for Justice of the Peace Court 8 will change. The hours remain the same. The new days of operations are as follows: Monday, Tuesday and Friday — 8:00am - 4:00pm
Delaware Courts implement modest increase in fees to go into effect August 15, 2018
Effective August 15, 2018 there will be an increase in some of our civil filing fees. View a complete list of our Civil Court Fees.
Justice of the Peace Phone Scam
The Justice of the Peace Voluntary Assessment Center has received multiple complaints over the last week regarding citizens who have received calls from a subject stating the citizen’s son or grandson is in jail and needs bail in the amount of $500 in order to secure his release. When the caller asks for more information, the call is disconnected. The calls are coming from a number which is spoofed to look as if it from the JP Court Voluntary Assessment Center. It is important for citizens to know the JP Court WILL NOT call individuals and request payment of a loved one’s bail. Any calls of that nature would come from the loved one themselves. Citizens should not provide their credit card or bank account information to anyone over the telephone unless they are certain they know they are dealing with a valid company or organization with the right to that information.
New Motion to Reopen Request form for criminal cases (CRF58)
Effective January 3, 2018 – The Justice of the Peace Court has created a standard letter that can be used for when a party needs to request a Motion to Reopen in a criminal case. Criminal form 58 Motion to Reopen Request Form for Criminal Cases can be found on our website under forms.
Announcements 2017-2008
2017 Archives
Updated Application for Access to Court Records (MISC 35)
Effective November 30, 2107 – The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Application for Access to Court Records document. We have changed the format, highlighted important information and included more options for receiving records. We have also included the cost of different items available and added “e-mail” as a method of delivery. Please replace the old application and download the updated version found on our website under forms.
New Certificate of Service form
Effective Tuesday, May 23, 2017, the Justice of the Peace Court has created a new “CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE” form (MISC 27C) to be used by filers to provide proof to the court when service of filing has been completed. This form can be found on our website under forms.
New Bill of Particulars and Cross/Counter Claim forms
Effective December 12, 2016—The Justice of the Peace Court has created two new forms to assist the litigant with filing a case. Form CF10BP “BILL OF PARTICULARS” can be completed in response to a “Notice of Demand for Bill of Particulars”. Form CF01CC “COUNTER/CROSS CLAIM” can now be used when filing a counter claim or cross claim with the court. These forms can be found on our website under forms.
Updated Civil Post Judgment Procedures forms (CF14A and CF14A3J)
Effective August 17, 2106: Changes have been made to the current Civil Post Judgment Procedures document (CF14A) to remove all items relating to three judge panel; language has been added regarding Title 10 Del. C. § 9567(b) and paragraphs have been re-ordered. A new document has been created CIVIL POST JUDGMENT PROCEDURES – THREE JUDGE PANE (CF14A3J). This new document is to be sent with the Judgment Order for those cases which involved a Three Judge Pane. Forms CF14A and CF14A3J can be found on the Justice of the Peace Court’s website under forms.
Justice of the Peace Court 20 New Hours
Effective Monday, February 6, 2017, the operating hours for Justice of the Peace Court 20 will change. The new hours will be Monday through Friday from 8 am until 4 pm. Justice of the Peace Court 11 will remain open 24 hours a day, and will be available to conduct any business that cannot wait for Court 20’s operating hours.
2016 Archives
Updated Civil Complaint form (CF01)
Effective August 3, 2106 - The Justice of the Peace Court has updated their Civil Complaint Form CF01. An additional line for addresses for Plaintiff and Defendant has been added. Please note the message above the address now reflects a new form and process CF01AP "COMPLAINT FORM – ADDITIONAL PARTIES." When filing a case, if there are more than two parties (either Plaintiff or Defendant), the court now will require the filer to use the new form CF01AP and submit to the court with Complaint Form CF01. Please replace the old complaint form and download the updated version along with the new Additional Parties document to use with new filings.
Justice of the Peace Court Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Joining the Delaware Court System
At noon on May 11 at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover, Court officials including Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. and Delaware Chief Magistrate Alan Davis, along with Governor Jack A. Markell and leaders from the Delaware General Assembly, gathered to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Justice of the Peace Court formally joining the Delaware State Court system.
Updated Instructions for Levy of Property (Form CF16)
Effective April 13, 2016—The Justice of the Peace Civil Courts have updated their levy forms and process. File a request that the constable levy upon the Judgment Debtor's property. This is done by filing a Civil Form 16 (Levy). The party whom the judgment was awarded to shall be listed as the Judgment Creditor and the party whom the judgment was awarded against is the judgment debtor. The address you provide for the Judgment Debtor on the CF16 is the address where the constable shall attempt to serve the levy.
If you know of specific property owned by the Judgment Debtor which you wish the constable to levy upon, you must list the property on a separate sheet of paper and attach it with your filing. Please note, it is at the Constable's discretion to select which items are levied upon. Attaching a list does not guarantee that these items will be levied upon.
Judgment Creditors wishing for the Constable to attempt to levy upon the Judgment Debtor's motor vehicle(s) (including a mobile home) must obtain a Certificate of Lien from the Department of Motor Vehicles for the judgment debtor's motor vehicle(s) and attach said Certificate(s) to your filing. Filers will notice the omission of Civil Form No 21 (Levy Inventory and Appraisement). Civil Form 21 will become a court generated form issued by the court directly to the constable for use. Filers will no longer need to attach the Civil Form 21 when filing their levy request. For more information go to How to Collect and/or Revive a Judgment in the Justice of the Peace Court.
2015 Archives
Delaware Courts to increase e-document fee
December 8, 2015—Five of Delaware's six courts will be adjusting the technology fee for the electronic filing of documents in order to defray the costs of expanding the Delaware Courts' e-filing system...
Civil Filing Fee Increase
Effective September 1, 2015, there will be an increase in some of our civil filing fees. View a complete list of our Civil Court Fees.
2014 and Prior
E-Filing at the Justice of the Peace Court
The Justice of the Peace Court has implemented a new policy regarding e-filing. Policy Directive 08-232 sets forth the filing criteria for those required to e-file in accordance with the Order amending Rule 79.1 allowing the Justice of the Peace Court to implement e-filing procedures. If you fall under the requirements for e-filing set for in the policy directive, you must register for an account and you must attend a training session prior to your use of the system. View the Court's training sessions being held by the Judicial Information Center (JIC) in the near future.
Payment methods for e-filing includes the use of a credit card or establishment of a court account. To request a court account, you must complete and return a Court Account Application.
More information.
Those required to e-file are as follows:
- Parties represented by attorneys
- Artificial entities represented by an officer, employee or other authorized agent under Delaware Supreme Court Rule 57 and Justice of the Peace Court Civil Form 50 ("Form 50 agent"), where the entity has filed five (5) or more civil actions in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the commencement of the civil action. This case limitation is effective regardless of whether or not the particular Form 50 agent has filed, within the prior year period, more than five (5) civil actions on behalf of the artificial entity.
- All other parties who, in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the commencement of the civil action, have filed more than ten (10) other civil actions in the Justice of the Peace Court.
- To the extent that they may not fall into any of the above categories, any State Agency filing a civil action, represented by a Form 50 agent.
Form 50 Policy Directive
The Justice of the Peace Court has revised the policy regarding the filing and use of Form 50 representation under Supreme Court Rule 57. Policy Directive 95-152, sets forth the requirements for filing Form50s and all companies and/or agents should be familiar with these changes. Form more information and to view the revised Policy Directive please visit the link above.
Justice of the Peace Civil Courts 19 and 17 Merge
On October 8, 2008, the staff and operations of Justice of the Peace Court 19 officially merged with Court 17. Beginning January 26th, the newly merged Justice of the Peace Court 17 was located at 23730 Shortly Road, Georgetown Delaware, just off of Route 113, behind the Delaware State Police Troop 4 Building. Cases that were pending at the Court 19 location were automatically transferred to Court 17 for further court processing and any necessary proceedings beginning January 26th. The merger was intended to help the court become more efficient for the public to file and adjudicate their cases.
Police Prosecution Project at Justice of the Peace Court 6
This project was initiated June 1, 2007 at Court 6 because the police were interested in decreasing officer's court hours and the Court was interested in reducing time to disposition. Court 6 was chosen as the location due to the fact that it has largest number of VAC transfers in the State on average (since 2003). 12,445 cases are transferred from the VAC to local JP Courts per year and 1,719 of those, or 13.8%, on average, are heard at Court 6. To begin the program, Harrington and Felton Police Departments started using the new system in June 2007 and Milford Police Department began in January 2009.
Under the new system the Court has implemented a call of the calendar for each police agency. One officer appears on behalf of the agency to conduct plea negotiations. If plea negotiations fail, the case is scheduled for trial at a later date to put the arresting officer on notice and permit time for the defendant to prepare.
The main goals of this project are to facilitate plea agreements and to reduce disposition time for cases as well as time spent at court by police officers and the public. It increases officer time on the street by eliminating the need for individual officer to appear. In addition, this project reduces court appearances for citizens (defendants and witnesses), ensures defendants understand their options and rights, ensures like cases are treated alike and it consolidates court workload for better efficiency.
Statistics from the first 7 months of this project shows, 50.6% of cases were resolved through a plea at the first appearance and 49.4% of cases were not resolved by a plea. The reasons for non-resolution are broken down as follows: 23.6% transfer to CCP; 15.2% failure to appear (capias); 7.2% set for trial; and 3.4% continued to a new date. The number of cases transferred to CCP has been reduced significantly. While data is still being compiled from recent casework, those figures have improved dramatically in the intervening months, prompting expansion of the project to the Camden and Wyoming Police Departments and Court 7 in Dover.
Fairness for All Initiative
In accordance with Supreme Court Administrative Directive 168 the Fairness for All Task Force was formed in an effort to identify and recommend solutions to issues of pro se (self-represented) civil litigants. Since the signing of the Administrative Directive, the task force has begun to identify programs that are already in place pertaining to this matter and fact finding sessions have been held in which testimony has been taken from organizations and identified individuals with an interest in the justice system as well as public hearings. Once all the testimony has been taken, the task force will develop a report to submit to the Chief Justice setting forth specific strategies to meet the needs of self-represented litigants and attempt to implement these strategies as soon as possible.
Justice of the Peace Civil Courts 12 and 13 Merge
On Wednesday, October 1, 2008, the staff and operations of Justice of the Peace Court 12 officially moved to Court 13.All phone calls made to Court 12's telephone number are now forwarded to Court 13. Cases currently pending at the Court 12 location have been transferred automatically to Court 13 for further court processing and any necessary proceedings.
Justice of the Peace Court 13 is conveniently located at 1010 Concord Avenue, Wilmington, DE 19802, just off the I-95 exit to southbound Route 202. It has been completely refurbished to accommodate the merger. The phone number to Court 13 is (302) 577-2550. Frequent litigants may wish to consider applying to use the Justice of the Peace Court's new e-filing system, eliminating the need to visit the court site except for actual court proceedings. More information on e-filing.
This move was approved by the General Assembly in the FY'08 budget and is undertaken in an effort to improve case processing efficiency of civil cases without having to seek additional personnel resources. The space vacated by the Court 12 operations will be used for expansion of existing specialty court operations, including Truancy Court.
