Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4323 – Exceptions to the privilege in adjudicative proceedings
(a) Unless the disclosure of the content of the information would substantially increase the likelihood that the source of the information will be discovered, the privilege provided by § 4322 of this title shall not prevent a reporter from being required in an adjudicative proceeding to testify concerning the content, but not the source, of information that the reporter obtained within the scope of his or her professional activities if the judge determines that the public interest in having the reporter’s testimony outweighs the public interest in keeping the information confidential. In making this determination, the judge shall take into account the importance of the issue on which the information is relevant, the efforts that have been made by the subpoenaing party to acquire evidence on the issue from alternative sources, the sufficiency of the evidence available from alternative sources, the circumstances under which the reporter obtained the information, and the likely effect that disclosure of the information will have on the future flow of information to the public.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4323
- Adjudicative proceeding: means any judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding in which the rights of parties are determined but does not include any proceeding of a grand jury. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Information: means any oral, written or pictorial material and includes, but is not limited to, documents, electronic impulses, expressions of opinion, films, photographs, sound records, and statistical data. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
- Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
- Reporter: means any journalist, scholar, educator, polemicist, or other individual who either:
- Source: means a person from whom a reporter obtained information by means of written or spoken communication or the transfer of physical objects, but does not include a person from whom a reporter obtained information by means of personal observation unaccompanied by any other form of communication and does not include a person from whom another person who is not a reporter obtained information, even if the information was ultimately obtained by a reporter. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
- Testify: Answer questions in court.
- Testify: means give testimony, provide tangible evidence, submit to a deposition, or answer interrogatories. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Within the scope of his or her professional activities: means any situation, including a social gathering, in which the reporter obtains information for the purpose of disseminating it to the public, but does not include any situation in which the reporter intentionally conceals from the source the fact that he or she is a reporter and does not include any situation in which the reporter is an eyewitness to or participant in an act involving physical violence or property damage. See Delaware Code Title 10 Sec. 4320
(b) The privilege provided by § 4322 of this title shall not prevent a reporter from being required in an adjudicative proceeding to testify concerning either the source or the content of information that the reporter obtained within the scope of his or her professional activities if the party seeking to have the reporter testify proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the sworn statement submitted by the reporter as required by § 4322 of this title is untruthful.
10 Del. C. 1953, § ?4323; 59 Del. Laws, c. 163, § ?1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § ?1;