Kane v. State

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
THOMAS F. KANE, §
§
Defendant Below, § No. 388, 2020
Appellant, §
§ Court Below—Superior Court
v. § of the State of Delaware
§
STATE OF DELAWARE, § Cr. ID No. 0612001862 (K)
§
Plaintiff Below, §
Appellee. §
Submitted: March 9, 2021
Decided: March 29, 2021
Before VALIHURA, VAUGHN, and TRAYNOR, Justices.
ORDER
After careful consideration of the appellant’s opening brief, the State’s motion
to affirm, and the record on appeal, we conclude that the judgment below should be
affirmed on the basis of the Superior Court’s order, dated October 15, 2020, denying
the appellant’s motion seeking to set aside his 2008 conviction for first-degree
murder and other charges pursuant to a plea of guilty but mentally ill. The Superior
Court correctly determined that Superior Court Criminal Rule 61 provides the sole
means by which a defendant may seek to set aside a conviction.1 The appellant’s
1
See Alley v. State, 2015 WL 7188326, at *1 (Del. Nov. 13, 2015) (“Superior Court Criminal Rule
61 provides the exclusive remedy for setting aside a conviction.”); Kane v. State, 2018 WL
1341710, at *1 (Del. Mar. 14, 2018) (“Superior Court Criminal Rule 61 provides the exclusive
previous motions for postconviction relief have been denied,2 and the appellant has
not pleaded any circumstances under Rule 61(d)(2)(i) or (d)(2)(ii) that overcome the
procedural bars set forth in Rule 61,3 nor does he claim that the Superior Court
lacked jurisdiction.4
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the motion to affirm is
GRANTED and the judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ James T. Vaughn, Jr.
Justice
remedy for setting aside a final criminal conviction.”). See also DEL. SUPER. CT. CRIM. R. 61(a)(2)
(“The remedy afforded by this rule may not be sought by a petition for a writ of habeas corpus or
in any manner other than as provided herein.”).
2
See Kane v. State, 2020 WL 2530218 (Del. May 18, 2020) (affirming denial of third motion for
postconviction relief, including claim that the Superior Court did not comply with 11 Del. C. §
408(a) when accepting his plea of guilty but mentally ill); Kane v. State, 2016 WL 1165949 (Del.
Mar. 17, 2016) (affirming denial of first and second motions for postconviction relief).
3
DEL. SUPER. CT. CRIM. R. 61(i).
4
Id. R. 61(i)(5).
2