Get above the noise
Log in for answers tailored to you — saved chats, your topics, and the full IJR suite.
Judge, Supreme Court of Delaware
Sawyer v. DSCYF
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-09-12
This case involves an appeal by Linda Sawyer from a Family Court order terminating her parental rights in her eleven-year-old son. The Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families had taken custody after an incident of the mother's severe intoxication while caring for the child, leading to findings of dependency based on her unstable housing, alcohol dependency, mental health issues, and failure to complete a reunification case plan. The Family Court concluded that termination was in the child's best interests after the mother did not demonstrate compliance with key plan elements such as sobriety, employment, and stable housing. On appeal, the mother's counsel filed a no-merit brief under Supreme Court Rule 26.1(c), and the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the termination, finding no abuse of discretion in the lower court's factual findings or legal application and determining the appeal lacked merit.
family law
Land v. State
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-08-22
Maurice Land was convicted of first-degree robbery and related charges for robbing a Dollar General store, based on surveillance video, his arrest nearby wearing matching clothing, and the clerk's identification. Land sought postconviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to move to sever his trial from his co-defendants'. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court's denial of relief, holding that counsel was not ineffective because a severance motion would have been denied given the lack of antagonistic defenses or other severance factors, and that Land suffered no prejudice due to the overwhelming evidence of his guilt.
criminal lawprocedure
Powell v. State
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-08-19
Leon Powell, who was convicted of first-degree murder in 1983 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, filed a motion in Superior Court seeking production of his complete sentencing order to complete an application for commutation. The Superior Court provided Powell with the criminal docket showing his sentence and denied the motion as moot. On appeal, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed, ruling that the Board of Pardons Checklist explicitly requires applicants to submit both certified court dockets and sentencing orders, so the docket alone did not satisfy the requirement. The case was remanded for the Superior Court to provide Powell with a certified copy of the sentencing order.
criminal lawprocedure
Simpson v. Simpson
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-08-08
This case involved a post-divorce dispute between Amy Louise Simpson and Calvin G. Simpson over the division of household goods under a 2016 Family Court property division order that required use of the two-list method. After the wife filed petitions alleging the husband's noncompliance, the Family Court resolved the issues at a 2017 hearing by assigning the lists and later denied the wife's motions for relief from judgment under Rule 60(b), a new trial under Rule 59(a), and reargument under Rule 59(e). The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Family Court did not err in finding a lack of excusable neglect by the wife's counsel, no likelihood of a different outcome on the underlying petition, substantial prejudice to the husband from reopening the matter years after separation, and no extraordinary circumstances warranting relief. The court noted that the lists had overlapping items due to the husband's lack of counsel at the time but that the wife had delayed in addressing the issue and her counsel had admitted receiving the lists earlier.
family lawpropertyprocedure
Grim v. State
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-08-05
In Grim v. State, the Delaware Supreme Court reviewed an appeal from Cody Grim challenging his 2019 Superior Court sentence for violating probation on multiple prior theft and burglary convictions. Grim argued that conflicts of interest existed with the presiding judge and a probation officer, and that the imposed sentence of two years at Level V incarceration plus six months of Level IV home confinement exceeded the statutory maximum. The court affirmed the Superior Court's judgment, holding that Grim's failure to provide a transcript of the VOP hearing prevented review of the conflict claims, which were also waived for not being fairly presented below. The court further reasoned that the sentence complied with Delaware law, as the Superior Court could impose the remaining Level V time from the original sentence and add the required six-month transition period under 11 Del. C. § 4204(l).
criminal lawprocedure
Duncan v. Smith
Supreme Court of Delaware · 2019-07-30
This case involved a dispute over guardianship of three children, with the key issue being whether the youngest child, Grant, was dependent such that guardianship should be awarded to his paternal grandparents rather than remaining with his mother or being granted to his maternal grandmother. The Delaware Supreme Court reversed the Family Court's order granting guardianship of Grant to the paternal grandparents. The core reasoning was that the Family Court's factual findings were insufficient to establish dependency under the relevant statute, as the mother's recent employment, clean drug screens, and involvement in Grant's care during a temporary placement with the grandparents did not meet the threshold for finding the child dependent.
family law