Burris v. State

Full title: WILLIAM F. BURRIS, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE…

Court: SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Date published: Dec 13, 2018

No. 456, 2018 (Del. Dec. 13, 2018)

Opinion

No. 456, 2018

12-13-2018

WILLIAM F. BURRIS, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff Below, Appellee.

James T. Vaughn, Jr. Justice

Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware Cr. ID No. 92K01637DI Before VALIHURA, VAUGHN, and SEITZ, Justices

ORDER

Upon careful consideration of the appellant's opening brief, the State's motion to affirm, and the record, we affirm the Superior Court's summary dismissal of the appellant's motion for postconviction relief under Superior Court Criminal Rule 61. The belated motion, filed more than twenty years after the appellant's convictions became final, was based on a flawed legal premise that the appellant's sentence violated the prohibition against double jeopardy because he was sentenced in Maryland for similar conduct.^*

* See Petition of Hovey, 545 A.2d 626, 629 (Del. 1988) ("The United States Supreme Court has recognized that separate jurisdictions may prosecute and punish violations in their respective jurisdictions." (citing cases)).

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the State's motion to affirm is GRANTED. The judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ James T. Vaughn, Jr.

Justice