Justia Delaware Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Appellant Jarreau Ayers was convicted on one count of Riot, two counts of Assault First Degree, four counts of Kidnapping First Degree, and one count of Conspiracy Second Degree for his participation in the February 1-2, 2017 inmate takeover of C Building at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC). Ayers was found guilty of these offenses following a sixteen-day jury trial. On appeal, he contended the trial judge erred by not curing prosecutorial misconduct which occurred during the State’s rebuttal argument. At trial, Ayers claimed he was not a participant in the planning and execution of the takeover and was outside of C Building in the recreational yard when the takeover took place. The alleged improper argument came when the prosecutor said to the jury, “[y]ou spent the better part of the last month with Jarreau Ayers. What about Mr. Ayers suggests that . . . he’s not going to do exactly what he wants to do, which is to go inside and join in what’s happening there.” Ayers contended this part of the rebuttal argument was improper because it asked the jury to consider Ayers’ character in the courtroom as observed by the jury during the trial. Ayers objected to the prosecutor’s statement, but his objection was overruled. After review, the Delaware Supreme Court concluded that the trial judge’s failure to take steps to cure any alleged prejudice caused by the prosecutor's comment, if error, was harmless error. Accordingly, judgment was affirmed. View "Ayers v. Delaware" on Justia Law

Darth Heald was convicted by jury of unlawful sexual contact with a nine-year-old child and related charges. The alleged contact occurred when Heald brushed the back of his hand over the child’s clothed “private parts” during a “tag”-like game in which the player who is “it” chased the other players, who, if caught, are tickled rather than tagged. The prosecution’s case was centered more on what the child had reported to others than what she said on the witness stand. By contrast, the defense focused on testimony from other children who were present or nearby at the time of the alleged offense: accounts that contradicted the complainant’s version of important facts, and Heald’s testimony denying the essential elements of the charged offenses. This appeal addressed the Superior Court’s admission of evidence throughout the trial, sometimes over Heald’s objections and sometimes in the absence of any objection. The Delaware Supreme Court found no reversible error in the court’s evidentiary rulings. But the Court addressed Heald’s claim that improper comments in the prosecution’s opening statement and again in its closing argument cast doubt on the fairness and integrity of his trial. The Supreme Court found that because none of the challenged comments drew an objection from the defense, it was limited to reviewing them for plain error. The Court found several of the prosecutor's comments were indeed improper, and their cumulative effect compromised the fairness of Heald's trial. Consequently, judgment was reversed and the matter remanded for a new trial. View "Heald v. Delaware" on Justia Law

Appellant Jarreau Ayers was convicted on: one count of Riot; two counts of Assault First Degree; four counts of Kidnapping First Degree; and one count of Conspiracy Second Degree. These charges arose from his participation in the February 1-2, 2017 inmate takeover of C Building at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center (JTVCC). Ayers was found guilty of these offenses following a sixteen-day jury trial. On appeal, he contended the trial judge erred by not curing prosecutorial misconduct which occurred during the State’s rebuttal argument. At trial, Ayers claimed that he was not a participant in the planning and execution of the takeover and was outside of C Building in the recreational yard when the takeover took place. The alleged improper argument came when the prosecutor said to the jury, “[y]ou spent the better part of the last month with Jarreau Ayers. What about Mr. Ayres suggests that . . . he’s not going to do exactly what he wants to do, which is to go inside and join in what’s happening there.” Ayers contended that this part of the rebuttal argument was improper because it asked the jury to consider Ayres’ character in the courtroom as observed by the jury during the trial. Ayers objected to the prosecutor’s statement, but his objection was overruled. After consideration of the record and the parties’ arguments, the Delaware Supreme Court concluded the trial judge’s failure to take steps to cure any alleged prejudice caused by the prosecutor’s comment, if error, was harmless error. Accordingly, judgment was affirmed. View "Ayers v. Delaware" on Justia Law

Defendant Naifece Houston was charged with drug offenses following a traffic stop, and moved to suppress evidence on various grounds, including that the arresting officers impermissibly extended the stop to allow time for a drug-sniffing dog to arrive. In his motion to suppress, defendant asked the superior court to hold a Daubert hearing so that he could contest the admissibility of testimony from one of the arresting officers that he could detect an odor at the scene emanating from the defendant’s car - a “chemically smell” that the officer associated with large amounts of cocaine. Because the officer’s testimony was based on his training and experience as a police officer, according to defendant, it was “expert in nature,” triggering the trial court’s gatekeeping function under Daubert and its progeny. The superior court disagreed, concluding that the officer’s testimony was not based on scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge, but, rather, was lay opinion testimony admissible under Delaware Rule of Evidence 701. On that rationale, defendant appealed, arguing the superior court erred. And had defendant’s motion been granted, he contended the State would have been left with no evidence that he was guilty of the drug offenses with which he was charged. The Delaware Supreme Court concluded that both defendant and the State, and ultimately the Superior Court, mistakenly framed the issue in the proceedings below as hinging upon the admissibility of the officer’s testimony under the rules of evidence governing opinion testimony. "Thus, the true question before the superior court was whether the challenged testimony was sufficiently reliable to justify the officer’s suspicion that there was cocaine in the defendant’s car." The Supreme Court concluded the trial court’s admission of the officer’s testimony was not an abuse of discretion. Thus, judgment was affirmed. View "Houston v. Delaware" on Justia Law

Appellant Wild Meadows MHC, LLC challenged the Superior Court’s dismissal of its petition for a writ of prohibition. The Wild Meadows manufactured home community (the “Community”) owned by Appellant, was located in Dover, Delaware. The Community was governed by the Manufactured Home Owners and Community Owners Act and its subsection commonly known as the Rent Justification Act (the “Act”). Appellee Intervenor/Respondent Wild Meadows Homeowners’ Association (the “HOA”) represented these homeowners. Multiple homeowners rejected Wild Meadows’ rent increase and, through the HOA, filed a petition with the Delaware Manufactured Home Relocation Authority (the “Authority”). The Authority appointed Appellee David J. Weidman, Esquire as the arbitrator under the Act. Before the scheduled arbitration, the HOA requested financial information from Wild Meadows relating to the Community’s recent revenue and costs. Wild Meadows refused to provide this information. The HOA moved to compel discovery and a motion for summary judgment with Weidman. In his initial decision, Weidman granted discovery of any financial documents that Wild Meadows intended to rely upon at arbitration, but he denied the HOA’s motion to compel the production of additional financial documents from Wild Meadows. Determining he could compel discover, Weidman ordered Wild Meadows to submit a proposed confidentiality agreement, and ordered the HOA to submit any comments on the draft. After taking both parties' comments into consideration, Weidman issued a final confidentiality agreement, rejecting many of the changes the HOA proposed. Wild Meadows refused to sign the confidentiality agreement and filed the underlying application for a writ of prohibition in the Superior Court. Wild Meadows argued to the Delaware Supreme Court that the Superior Court erroneously held that the arbitrator appointed under Delaware’s Rent Justification Act had authority to compel discovery and impose a confidentiality agreement upon parties concerning discovery material. Finding no reversible error in the Superior Court's judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Wild Meadows MHC, LLC v. Weidman" on Justia Law

In 2018, an enforcement officer working for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control pulled over a truck hauling municipal solid waste from the Pine Tree Corners Transfer Station. The truck’s owner-operator, Contractors Hauling, LLC, did not have a valid permit to transport solid waste, violating Delaware law. The Department subsequently determined that on numerous occasions between September 2017 and July 2018, vehicles belonging to Contractors Hauling transported solid waste from the Pine Tree Station without a valid permit. The Delaware Solid Waste Authority operated the Pine Tree Station subject to a Department-issued permit. In 2017, the Authority transferred operations of the station to a subcontractor, Greggo & Ferrera, Inc. (“G&F”). Later that year - and apparently without the Authority’s knowledge - G&F began using vehicles owned and operated by its affiliate entity, Contractors Hauling, to transport waste from the transfer station to waste disposal facilities. The Department determined that each of the three entities - the Authority, G&F, and Contractors Hauling - violated various requirements related to solid waste, and the Department assessed civil penalties and costs. Each entity filed a timely appeal with the Environmental Appeals Board. The Board reversed the Department’s assessments of fines and penalties. The Department appealed to the Superior Court. The court held: (1) the Department had the authority to impose the permit condition, but it was unconstitutionally vague; (2) the Authority was strictly liable for failing to provide a complete list of transporters; (3) the Board erred by setting aside the penalties assessed against G&F and Contractors Hauling; and (4) the Secretary’s cost assessments were not before the Board. Each of the parties appealed the Superior Court’s decision. After review, the Delaware Supreme Court held: (1) the Superior Court and the Board erred by holding that the permit condition was unlawful; (2) the Superior Court properly held that the Authority was strictly liable for failing to provide a complete list of transporters; (3) the Superior Court erred by overturning the Board’s determination that no penalty should have been assessed against G&F and Contractors Hauling; and (4) the Superior Court properly held that the Secretary’s ability to recover costs was not before the Board. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case back to the Superior Court for further proceedings. View "Delaware Solid Waste Authority v. Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control" on Justia Law

McArthur Risper was convicted by jury of first-degree murder, first degree conspiracy, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for his role in the May 2018 shooting death of Corey Bailey. The superior court sentenced Risper to life plus 30 years in prison. The theory of the prosecution was that Risper intentionally killed Bailey as revenge for Bailey’s theft of drugs and a firearm belonging to Risper. Risper claimed that the evidence of Bailey’s theft and Risper’s subsequent efforts to recover the stolen drugs and firearm was prior-misconduct evidence, and therefore inadmissible under Delaware rules of evidence. Furthermore, Risper claimed he did not receive a fair trial because the State did not disclose in a timely manner evidence that was favorable to the defense as required under Brady v. Maryland and its progeny. According to Risper, the State’s belated disclosures (one on the day before trial was to begin and the other on the fourth day of trial) fundamentally undermined the fairness of his trial. The Delaware Supreme Court agreed with Risper as to his second contention, concluding that the State’s failure to produce, until the afternoon before Risper’s trial was to begin, a recorded interview of an individual who told the chief investigating officer that another person had confessed to her that he had killed Bailey and showed her the gun used in the shooting was a violation of the State’s obligations under Brady. "And because that violation undermines our confidence in the outcome of Risper’s trial, we reverse and remand to the Superior Court for a new trial." View "Risper v. Delaware" on Justia Law

A Delaware superior court affirmed decisions by the Delaware Secretary of State (the “Secretary”) and the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline (the “Board”) to revoke Dr. Nihar Gala’s medical license and controlled substance registration (“CSR”). The court upheld the Board’s and Secretary’s decisions after finding that substantial evidence existed to support the issued discipline. On appeal, Gala argued: (1) the Board’s decision to deliberate “behind closed doors” rendered the record incomplete for judicial review; (2) the Board and the Secretary were biased; and (3) the Board’s and the Secretary’s decisions to revoke his medical license and CSR were not supported by substantial evidence. The Delaware Supreme Court found the the Board and Secretary's decisions were supported by substantial evidence and were free from legal error. Accordingly, it affirmed the superior court. View "Gala v. Bullock" on Justia Law

Defendant Damon Anderson was convicted by jury on five felonies for his involvement in a Wilmington drug dealing enterprise. The Superior Court declared Anderson an habitual offender and sentenced him to an aggregate thirty-two years of incarceration. Anderson argued on appeal: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to sever his case from that of co-defendants Eric Lloyd and Dwayne White; (2) the trial court should not have admitted gun evidence seized from a co-defendant’s apartment; (3) the trial court erred by denying his motions to suppress evidence discovered following search warrants for his home, car, and cell phones; and (4) the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on two charges. The Delaware Supreme Court found no merit to any of these contentions and affirmed the Superior Court. View "Anderson v. Delaware" on Justia Law

Eric Lloyd was convicted by jury of six felonies stemming from his involvement in a Wilmington drug dealing enterprise. The Superior Court sentenced Lloyd to an aggregate of thirty years of incarceration without the possibility of early release. On appeal, Lloyd challenged his convictions and sentence, contending: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to sever his case from that of co-defendant Dwayne White; (2) the trial court erred when it denied his motion for a mistrial after an eyewitness to a shooting misidentified Lloyd as the gunman; (3) the trial court should not have admitted gun evidence seized from a co-defendant’s apartment and rap music videos created by other enterprise members; (4) the trial court erred by allowing testimony from Lloyd’s former attorney’s secretary about a drug transaction. Finally, Lloyd argued the trial court violated his rights under the Eighth Amendment by imposing consecutive sentences, resulting in thirty years of incarceration, without the option for early release. Finding no merit to these claims, the Delaware Supreme Court affirmed Lloyd's convictions. View "Lloyd v. Delaware" on Justia Law