Case Title: Johnson v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 261, 2011

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2011-10-27T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
DERIOUS J. JOHNSON, 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
No. 261, 2011 
 
Petitioner Below,  
 
§ 
Appellant, 
§ 
Court Below—Superior Court  
§ 
of the State of Delaware in and  
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
§ 
for New Castle County 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
§ 
C.A. No. N11M-04-110 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
Cr. ID No. 0304007340 
 
Respondent Below, 
 
§ 
Cr. ID No. 9709002535 
 
Appellee. 
 
 
 
§ 
 
 
Submitted: August 3, 2011 
Decided: 
October 27, 2011 
 
Before HOLLAND, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices.  
 
O R D E R 
 
 
This 27th day of October 2011, upon consideration of the opening 
brief filed by the appellant, Derious J. Johnson, and the motion to affirm 
filed by the appellee, State of Delaware, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
In September 1997, the petitioner, seventeen-year old Derious 
J. Johnson, was arrested on several drug charges.  Following an amenability 
hearing in the Family Court, the case was transferred to the Superior Court 
where Johnson eventually pled guilty to one charge of Possession with Intent 
to Deliver Heroin (hereinafter “the 1998 case”).1 
                                            
1 For that conviction, Johnson was sentenced to the boot camp diversion program, twice 
found in violation of probation, and was discharged as unimproved in March 2001.   
2 
 
(2) 
In October 2003, following Johnson’s conviction of Rape in the 
First Degree (hereinafter “the 2003 case”), the State sought to declare 
Johnson a habitual offender based, in part, on the 1998 case.  On December 
5, 2003, the Superior Court declared Johnson a habitual offender and 
sentenced him to life in prison. 
(3) 
For the past several years, Johnson has argued, without success, 
that his Superior Court conviction in the 1998 case was invalid due to flaws 
in the underlying Family Court amenability proceeding.2  Most recently, on 
April 25, 2011, Johnson filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on the 
basis that his conviction in the 1998 case was invalid and thus should not 
have qualified as a predicate offense when establishing his habitual offender 
status in the 2003 case. 
(4) 
By order dated April 29, 2011, the Superior Court denied 
Johnson’s habeas corpus petition for failure to state a claim upon which 
relief could be granted.  This appeal followed.  In furtherance of the appeal, 
Johnson requested the preparation at State expense of a transcript of the 
Family Court amenability hearing.  By order dated June 16, 2011, the 
Superior Court denied Johnson’s request. 
                                            
2 See Johnson v. State, 2009 WL 4639333 (Del. Supr.) (affirming denial of 
postconviction relief); Johnson v. State, 2009 WL 1763264 (Del. Supr.) (affirming denial 
of postconviction relief and relief for correction or reduction of sentence); Johnson v. 
State, 2008 WL 4978291 (Del. Supr.) (affirming denial of habeas corpus relief). 
3 
 
(5) 
In his opening brief on appeal, Johnson challenges the Superior 
Court’s denials of his habeas corpus petition and request for transcript at 
state expense.  Johnson contends that, without a transcript of the amenability 
hearing, he is unable to substantiate his claims and prepare an adequate 
brief. 
(6) 
After consideration of Johnson’s opening brief and the State’s 
motion to affirm, the Court concludes that the Superior Court committed no 
error when summarily dismissing Johnson’s habeas corpus petition and 
denying his request for transcript at State expense.  In both the 1998 case 
and the 2003 case, Johnson was tried in a court of competent jurisdiction and 
was validly committed to prison.3  Johnson’s current detention is lawfully 
based on two sentences, one imposed in the 2003 case and the other in 2001 
when Johnson pled guilty to Robbery in the First Degree.4 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the State’s motion to 
affirm is GRANTED.  The judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Henry duPont Ridgely 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                            
3 Curran v. Woolley, 104 A.2d 771, 773 (Del. 1954). 
4 State v. Johnson, Del. Super., Cr. ID No. 9912018785.