Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2106 – Investigative demand by Attorney General
(a) Whenever the Attorney General has reason to believe that any person may have knowledge, or be in possession, custody or control of any documentary material, pertinent to a possible violation of this chapter, the Attorney General may issue in writing and cause to be served upon the person an investigative demand that may:
(1) Compel the attendance of such person and require that person to submit to examination and give testimony under oath;
(2) Require the production of documentary material pertinent to the investigation; and
(3) Require answers to written interrogatories to be furnished under oath.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2106
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- Court: means the Court of Chancery except where another court is specifically designated. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2102
- Documentary material: means the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart or other document, and further includes data and other information in a form readable by a data processing machine. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 2102
- 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.
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
- Interrogatories: Written questions asked by one party of an opposing party, who must answer them in writing under oath; a discovery device in a lawsuit.
- Knowledge: means a person's actual knowledge of a fact, rather than the person's constructive knowledge of the fact. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- Oath: includes affirmation in all cases where an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and "sworn" includes affirmed; and the forms shall be varied accordingly. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- Person: means a natural person, partnership (whether general or limited), limited liability company, trust (including a common law trust, business trust, statutory trust, voting trust or any other form of trust), estate, association (including any group, organization, co-tenancy, plan, board, council or committee), corporation, government (including a country, state, county or any other governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality), custodian, nominee or any other individual or entity (or series thereof) in its own or any representative capacity, in each case, whether domestic or foreign. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- State: means the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or any state, territory, possession, or other jurisdiction of the United States other than the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 6 Sec. 17-101
- Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(b) Service of any demand under this section may be made by mailing such demand to the last known place of business, residence or abode within or without this State of the person to whom such demand is directed; service may also be made upon any person other than a natural person, in the manner provided in § 321 or §§ 371–385 of Title 8 and in the manner provided in the Rules of the Court of Chancery.
(c) Each demand under this section shall be in writing and shall:
(1) State the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation of this chapter which is under investigation and the provision of law applicable thereto;
(2) Describe the class or classes of documentary material to be produced thereunder with such definiteness and certainty as to permit such material to be fairly identified;
(3) Prescribe a return date which will provide a reasonable time within which the material so demanded may be assembled and made available for inspection and copying or reproduction; and
(4) Identify the custodian to whom such material shall be made available or the official before whom such examination shall take place or to whom such answers shall be furnished.
(d) Any person required to submit to examination under this section shall be entitled to be represented by counsel. Any person so required shall be entitled to procure a transcript of the testimony, provided that the Court, for good cause shown by the Attorney General, may order that such person be limited to inspection of such transcript.
(e) No demand under this section shall contain any requirement which would be held to be unreasonable if contained in a subpoena issued by a court of this State in aid of a grand jury investigation, or require the production of any evidence which would be privileged from disclosure if demanded by a subpoena issued by a court of this State in aid of a grand jury investigation.
(f) Within 20 days after the service of any demand under this section, or at any time before the return date specified in the demand, whichever period is shorter, the person served may file with the Court a motion for an order modifying or setting aside such demand. The motion shall specify each ground upon which the person relies in seeking such relief, and may be based upon any failure of the demand to comply with this section, or upon any constitutional right or privilege of the person.
(g) If any person fails to comply with a demand under this section, the Attorney General may file with the Court a motion for an order, and the Court may enter an order:
(1) Requiring the person to respond to the demand;
(2) Granting such other relief as may be required to obtain compliance with the demand.
(h) If any person shall refuse to give testimony or to produce documentary material or to answer a written interrogatory in obedience to an investigative demand on the ground that the person may thereby be incriminated, the Court, upon motion by the Attorney General, may order such person to give testimony or to produce documentary material or to answer the written interrogatory, or to do an applicable combination of these, after notice to the witness and a hearing. Such person so ordered by the Court shall comply with the Court order. After complying, the testimony of such person or the matters produced, which are obtained by virtue of said order, shall not be used against the person in any criminal prosecution nor shall any evidence obtained derivatively from said testimony be so used, provided that, but for this section, such person would have been privileged to withhold the answer or the evidence produced by the person. In no event, however, shall such person, acting pursuant to such order, be exempt from prosecution or penalty or forfeiture for any perjury, false statement or contempt committed in answering or failing to answer, or in producing or failing to produce evidence in accordance with the order, and any testimony or evidence so given or produced shall not, by virtue of this section, be rendered inadmissible in evidence upon any criminal action, investigation or proceeding concerning such perjury, false statement or contempt.
(i) Any transcripts of oral testimony, documentary material or answers to written interrogatories provided pursuant to a demand under this section shall be exempt from disclosure under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act. The custodian described in paragraph (c)(4) of this section shall take physical possession of such transcripts, material and answers. Such transcripts, material or answers, or copies thereof, shall not be disclosed by the custodian to any person other than the Attorney General or authorized employees of the Department of Justice, and the Attorney General and authorized employees shall not make further disclosure of such transcripts, material or answers, or copies, or of internal memoranda or work papers relating thereto. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Attorney General from introducing said testimony, material or answers in any action initially filed in a federal court sitting in this State, or before any court or grand jury of this State.