Case Title: Chrisden v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 237, 2022

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2023-01-13T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
JIMVONTE CHRISDEN, 
 
Petitioner Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Respondent Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 237, 2022 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  C.A. No. N22M-06-092 
§  Cr. ID No. 2008012712 (N) 
§                           
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted:   December 7, 2022 
 
 
 
 
Decided: 
January 13, 2023 
 
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and TRAYNOR, Justices. 
 
ORDER 
 
(1) 
The appellant, JimVonte Chrisden, filed this appeal from the Superior 
Court’s order, dated June 17, 2022, denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.    
The State has moved to affirm the judgment below on the ground that it is manifest 
on the face of Chrisden’s opening brief that his appeal is without merit.  We agree 
and affirm. 
(2) 
In August 2020, police officers arrested Chrisden on charges of 
attempted first-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a 
felony, two counts of possession of a firearm by a person prohibited (“PFBPP”), and 
first-degree conspiracy.  A grand jury indicted Chrisden in March 2021.  The 
Superior Court later scheduled trial to begin on February 1, 2022.  Chrisden’s 
2 
 
counsel filed a motion to suppress evidence.  Before the hearing on the suppression 
motion, the court ordered Chrisden to undergo a psychiatric/psychological 
examination to assess his competence to stand trial.  A report of the examination was 
filed on June 1, 2022, and after a hearing, a Superior Court Commissioner found 
Chrisden competent to stand trial.  The court later scheduled trial to begin on 
February 6, 2023. 
(3) 
On June 13, 2022, Chrisden filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.  
Chrisden alleged that the police had detained him based on an illegal, warrantless 
search and seizure of his person, DNA, and phone.  The Superior Court denied the 
petition, finding that Chrisden was legally detained.  Chrisden has appealed to this 
Court, claiming, as he did in the Superior Court, that he was illegally detained based 
on an illegal, warrantless search and seizure of his person, DNA, and phone. 
(4) 
“[T]he writ of habeas corpus under Delaware law provides relief on a 
very limited basis.”1  Specifically, it provides a prisoner with a means of challenging 
an allegedly unlawful detention on the basis that the court ordering the commitment 
lacked jurisdiction.2  “Habeas corpus relief is not available to ‘[p]ersons committed 
or detained on a charge of treason or felony, the species whereof is plainly and fully 
set forth in the commitment.”3 
 
1 Hall v. Carr, 692 A.2d 888, 891 (Del. 1997). 
2 Id. 
3 Id. (quoting 10 Del. C. § 6902(1)) (alteration in original). 
3 
 
(5) 
The Superior Court did not err by denying Chrisden’s petition.  When 
Chrisden sought habeas relief, he was detained on felony charges;4 he did not 
contend that the committing court lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter.  A 
petition for habeas corpus was not the appropriate means of asserting his Fourth 
Amendment claims. 
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. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       Chief Justice 
 
4 The Superior Court record reflects that Chrisden resolved the charges against him by pleading 
guilty on January 6, 2023, to first-degree assault (as a lesser-included offense of attempted murder) 
and PFBPP.