State v. Church

Full title: STATE OF DELAWARE v. MICHAEL L. CHURCH, Defendant.

Court: SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY

Date published: Aug 18, 2015

ID#: 1101004755 (Del. Super. Ct. Aug. 18, 2015)

Opinion

ID#: 1101004755

08-18-2015

STATE OF DELAWARE v. MICHAEL L. CHURCH, Defendant.

cc: Prothonotary (Criminal) Annemarie Puit, Deputy Attorney General Michael L. Church, pro se, Defendant

Fred S. Silverman Judge

ORDER

Upon Defendant's Second Motion for Postconviction Relief -
SUMMARILY DISMISSED.

1. On June 4, 2015, Defendant filed the above-captioned motion for postconviction relief under Superior Court Criminal Rule 61.

2. The motion was properly referred for preliminary review.¹

1 Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(d)(1).

3. Upon preliminary review, it appears the motion is procedurally barred as repetitive, and is subject to summary dismissal.

4. The history leading to this motion has been set out in the orders denying Defendant's motions to withdraw his guilty plea,² for reconsideration of that denial,³ for postconviction relief,⁴ and for appointment of counsel.⁵

2 State v. Church, 2012 WL 1413978 (Del. Super. Feb 16, 2012) (ORDER).

3 State v. Church, 2012 WL 1415763 (Del. Super. Mar. 2, 2012) (ORDER).

4 State v. Church, 2013 WL 3422490 (Del. Super. June 25, 2013) (ORDER).

5 State v. Church, 2013 WL 5786176 (Del. Super. Sept. 23, 2013) (ORDER).

5. This motion is very similar to Defendant's first postconviction relief motion. Mostly, it appears to be an untimely request for reargument. It may be that Defendant simply filed this motion to perfect an appeal from the denial of his second motion for appointment of counsel, then-deemed interlocutory.⁶

6 Church v. State, 2015 WL 1243731 (Del. Mar. 17, 2015) (ORDER) (TABLE).

6. After appropriate review, it appears Defendant's second motion for postconviction relief is procedurally barred. That considers his claim under the "interest of justice" excuse, which the earlier orders specifically addressed, and Defendant has presented nothing new.

For the foregoing reasons and as presented in the earlier orders, Defendant's second motion for postconviction relief is SUMMARILY DISMISSED. The Prothonotary SHALL notify Defendant.

IT IS SO ORDERED. Date: August 18, 2015

/s/ Fred S. Silverman

Judge
cc: Prothonotary (Criminal)

Annemarie Puit, Deputy Attorney General

Michael L. Church, pro se, Defendant