Desousa v. State

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
ALVAIR DESOUSA JR., §
§ No. 97, 2022
Petitioner Below, §
Appellant, §
§ Court Below–Superior Court
v. § of the State of Delaware
§
STATE OF DELAWARE, §
§ C.A. No. N20X-10-054
Respondent Below, §
Appellee. §
Submitted: April 4, 2022
Decided: April 5, 2022
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and MONTGOMERY-REEVES,
Justices.
ORDER
After careful consideration of the notice to show cause and the appellant’s
response, it appears to the Court that:
(1) On March 16, 2022, the Court received the appellant’s notice of appeal
from a Superior Court Commissioner’s order denying without prejudice the
appellant’s petition to expunge his criminal record. The Senior Court Clerk issued
a notice to the appellant to show cause why this appeal should not be dismissed for
the Court’s lack of jurisdiction to consider an appeal taken directly from a Superior
Court commissioner’s order.
(2) The appellant has responded to the notice to show cause and argues that
the Superior Court Commissioner erroneously denied his petition. The appellant
does not address the Court’s lack of jurisdiction to hear the appeal. It is well-settled
that this Court is without jurisdiction to hear an appeal taken directly from any order
issued by a master or commissioner of a trial court1 and that the right to review of a
commissioner’s order is to a judge of the Superior Court.2 Accordingly, this appeal
must be dismissed. The appellant’s filing fee for any future appeal from the Superior
Court’s final judgment shall be waived.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b),
that the appeal is DISMISSED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr.
Chief Justice
1
See Johnson v. State, 884 A.2d 475, 478-79 (Del. 2005).
2
See Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 132(a).
2