Brown v. State
Summary of the case Brown v. State
Wayne Brown was found guilty of two counts of Assault in a Detention Facility by a Superior Court jury and sentenced to eight years at Level V. On appeal, his counsel filed a motion to withdraw, asserting no arguable issues for appeal. The Delaware Supreme Court conducted its own review and found the appeal to be without merit, affirming the Superior Court's judgment.
Key Issues of the case Brown v. State
- Whether there were any arguable issues for appeal
- Whether the appeal was frivolous
Key Facts of the case Brown v. State
- Wayne Brown was found guilty of two counts of Assault in a Detention Facility.
- Brown was sentenced to a total of eight years at Level V.
Decision of the case Brown v. State
The judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED.
Opinions
IN TI~]E SUPR.EME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWAR.E
WAYNE BROWN, § § No. 320, 2015 Defendant Below, § Appellant, § Court Below-Superior Court of § the State of Delaware v. § § Cr. ID NO. 1403020336 STATE OF DELAWARE, § § Plaintiff Below, § Appellee. §
Submitted: December ll, 2015 Decided: February l5, 2016
Before VALIHURA, VAUGHN, and SEITZ, Justices. 0 R D E R
This 15"' day of February 2016, upon consideration of the appellant’s brief filed under Supreme Court Rule 26(¢), his appellate counsel’s motion to withdraw, and the State’s response, it appears to the Court that:
(l) On January 30, 2015, after a two-day trial, a Superior Court jury found the appellant, Wayne Brown, guilty of two counts of Assault in a Detention Facility. On May 29, 201 5, Brovm was sentenced to a total of eight years at Level
V for the two offenses. This is Brown’s direct appeal.
(2) On appeal, Brown’s appellate counsel has filed a brief and a motion to withdraw under Supreme Court Rule 26(c) (“Rule 26(0)”).' Brown’s counsel asserts that, based upon a complete and careful examination of the record, there are no arguably appealable issues. Brown’s counsel represents that he provided Brown with a copy of the motion to withdraw and the accompanying brief and appendix and informed Brown of his right to identify any points he wished this Court to consider on appeal. Brown has not submitted any points for the Court’s consideration. The State has responded to the Rule 26(c) brief and has moved to affirm the Superior Court’s judgment.
(3) When reviewing a motion to withdraw and an accompanying brief under Rule 26(c), this Court must be satisfied that the appelIant’s counsel has made a conscientious examination of the record and the law for arguable claims.z Also, the Court must conduct its own review of the record and determine whether "the appeal is indeed so frivolous that it may be decided without an adversary
presentation."$
1 See Del. Supr. Ct. R. 26(c) (goveming criminal appeals without merit).
2 Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 83 (1988); McCoy v. Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 486 U.S. 429, 442 (l988); Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967).
3 henson v. 011:0,433 U.s. ar si.
(4) In this case, having conducted “a full examination of all the proceedings” and having found “no nonfrivolous issue for appeal,”“l the Court concludes that Brown’s appeal “is wholly without merit.”§ The Court is satisfied that Brown’s appellate counsel made a conscientious effort to examine the record and the law and properly determined that Brown could not raise a meritorious claim on appeal.
NOW, TI-[ER.EFORE, IT IS ORDER.ED that the State’s motion to affirm is GR.ANTED. The judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. The motion to
withdraw is moot.
BY THE COURT: