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Rules of the Court on the Judiciary – 2026

The procedure of the Court on the Judiciary, the body Article IV, Section 37 of the Delaware Constitution sets up to discipline, suspend, remove or retire a judge. The rules follow a complaint from filing and the Clerk's initial review (Rules 5 and 5.1) through investigation by a panel of the Preliminary Investigatory Committee (Rules 3, 7 and 8), formal charges and a hearing before a Board of Examining Officers (Rules 9 to 14), and proceedings in the Court itself (Rule 15). Rule 16 covers a judge's alleged disability, Rule 17 keeps the proceedings confidential, and Rule 18 creates the Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, which gives a judge, on request, its opinion on proper conduct under the Code of Judicial Conduct. Last amended effective March 6, 2018.

Browse all 20 rules of the 2026 edition below. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules. Use the search box to find rules by keyword or number.

Rule 1 Scope of Rules Rule 2 Clerk Rule 3 Preliminary Investigatory Committee Rule 4 Grounds for Discipline and Sanctions Rule 5 Complaint Rule 5.1 Initial Review by Clerk and Review by the Chief Justice Rule 6 Right to Counsel Rule 7 Panel Review and Investigation Rule 8 Disposition of Panel Report Rule 9 Board of Examining Officers Rule 10 Formulation and Presentation of Charges Rule 11 Service and Filing of Papers Rule 12 Discipline by Consent Rule 13 Hearings Before the Board Rule 14 Report of the Board of Examining Officers Rule 15 Proceedings in the Court on the Judiciary Rule 16 Proceedings Involving Alleged Disability Rule 17 Confidentiality Rule 18 Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee Rule 19 Miscellaneous