Case Title: Desousa v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 97, 2022

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2022-04-05T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
ALVAIR DESOUSA JR., 
 
Petitioner Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Respondent Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 97, 2022 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below–Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§   
§  C.A. No. N20X-10-054 
§ 
§ 
 
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 
 
(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).