Case Title: Miller v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 160, 2018

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2018-06-14T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
THOMAS R. MILLER, 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§   
§  No. 160, 2018 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  Cr. ID No. 92S05488DI (S) 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted:  May 14, 2018 
 
 
 
 
Decided:     June 14, 2018 
 
Before VAUGHN, SEITZ, and TRAYNOR, Justices. 
 
 
 
ORDER 
 
 
This 14th day of June 2018, upon consideration of the appellant’s opening 
brief, the State’s motion to affirm, and the record below, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
The appellant, Thomas R. Miller, filed this appeal from the Superior 
Court’s denial of his motion for correction of an illegal sentence.  The State of 
Delaware has filed a motion to affirm the Superior Court’s judgment on the ground 
that it is clear on the face of Miller’s opening brief that his appeal is without merit.  
We agree and affirm. 
(2) 
The record reflects that, in 1994, a Superior Court jury found Miller 
guilty of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse in the First Degree and Burglary in the Second 
Degree.  The charges arose from an attack on an 85-year-old woman.  The Superior 
2 
 
Court sentenced Miller as follows: (i) for Unlawful Sexual Intercourse in the First 
Degree, life imprisonment; and (ii) for Burglary in the Second Degree, eight years 
of Level V incarceration.   On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the Superior Court’s 
judgment.1  Since then Miller has filed multiple unsuccessful motions for 
postconviction relief, extraordinary writs, and sentence correction.2  
(3) 
On March 1, 2018, Miller filed a motion for correction of illegal 
sentence under Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(a).  On March 15, 2018, the 
Superior Court denied the motion.  This appeal followed.   
(4) 
In his opening brief, Miller argues, as he did below, that his sentence is 
illegal because the Superior Court was biased throughout the entire case, including 
at sentencing, and imposed more than the minimum mandatory sentence of fifteen 
years for Unlawful Sexual Intercourse in the First Degree.  We review the Superior 
Court’s denial of a motion for correction of sentence for abuse of discretion, 
although questions of law are reviewed de novo.3  A sentence is illegal if it exceeds 
the statutory limits, violates double jeopardy, is ambiguous or internally 
                                                 
1 Miller v. State, 1995 WL 301379 (Del. May 9, 1995). 
2 See, e.g., In re Miller, 2012 WL 1267971 (Del. Apr. 12, 2012) (denying petition for a writ of 
mandamus); Miller v. State, 2010 WL 2555084 (Del. June 25, 2010) (affirming the Superior 
Court’s denial of Miller’s fourth postconviction for relief); Miller v. State, 2004 WL 65331 (Del. 
Jan. 12, 2004) (affirming the Superior Court’s denial of Miller’s motion for correction of illegal 
sentence). 
3 Weber v. State, 2015 WL 2329160, at *1 (Del. May 12, 2015). 
3 
 
contradictory, omits a term required to be imposed by statute, or is not authorized 
by the judgment of conviction.4   
(5) 
The Superior Court did not err in denying Miller’s motion for correction 
of illegal sentence.  On direct appeal, we rejected Miller’s claim that the Superior 
Court judge was biased and should have granted Miller’s motion for recusal.5  In 
2004 when we affirmed the Superior Court’s denial of Miller’s motion for correction 
of illegal sentence, we rejected Miller’s argument that his life sentence for Unlawful 
Sexual Intercourse in the First Degree was illegal.6  We warn Miller that if he 
continues to file appeals from repetitive claims, he will be enjoined from filing future 
appeals without leave of the Court. 
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/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                                 
4 Brittingham v. State, 705 A.2d 577, 578 (Del. 1998). 
5 Miller v. State, 1995 WL 301379, at *2. 
6 Miller v. State, 2004 WL 65331, at *1 (stating “Miller's life sentence (a) did not exceed the 
statutorily-authorized limits for Unlawful Sexual Intercourse in the First Degree, (b) did not 
constitute double jeopardy, and (c) was not ambiguous or contradictory”) (citations omitted).