Case Title: Flonnory v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 350, 2015

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2015-07-21T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
FREDDY L. FLONNORY, 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§ 
§  No. 350, 2015 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware, 
§  in and for New Castle County 
§  Cr. ID No. 9707012190 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: July 17, 2015 
 
 
 
 
   Decided: July 21, 2015 
 
Before STRINE, Chief Justice; VAUGHN, and SEITZ, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
This 21st day of July 2015, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
On July 7, 2015, the Court received the appellant’s notice of 
appeal from a Superior Court order, dated June 4, 2015 and docketed on 
June 5, 2015, denying his third motion for postconviction relief.  Under 
Supreme Court Rule 6(a)(iii), a timely notice of appeal should have been 
filed on or before July 6, 2015. 
(2) 
The Senior Court Clerk issued a Supreme Court Rule 29(b) 
notice directing the appellant to show cause why the appeal should not be 
dismissed as untimely filed.  In his response to the notice to show cause, the 
 
 
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appellant contends that he was not aware the appeal deadline was July 4, 
2015 because his postconviction counsel (who was permitted to withdraw in 
the Superior Court proceedings) incorrectly informed him that the appeal 
deadline was July 6, 2015, he could not mail the notice of appeal until he 
received copies from the law library on June 29, 2015, and he only missed 
the appeal deadline his counsel identified by one day due to the Fourth of 
July holiday.     
(3) 
In Delaware, the thirty day appeal period is a jurisdictional 
requirement.1  A notice of appeal must be received by the Office of the 
Clerk of this Court within the applicable time period.2  Delaware has not 
adopted a “prison mailbox rule” that allows tolling of the appeal period for 
prisoners.3  The appellant’s counsel correctly informed the appellant that the 
appeal deadline was July 6, 2015.  Unless the appellant can demonstrate that 
the failure to file a timely notice of appeal is attributable to court-related 
personnel, his appeal cannot be considered.4 
(4) 
There is nothing in the record suggesting that the appellant’s 
failure to file a timely notice of appeal is attributable to court personnel.        
Accordingly, this case does not fall within the exception to the general rule 
                                                 
1 Carr v. State, 554 A.2d 778, 779 (Del. 1989). 
2 Smith v. State, 47 A.3d 481, 483 (Del. 2012). 
3 Id. at 486-87; Carr, 554 A.2d at 779-80. 
4 Bey v. State, 402 A.2d 362, 363 (Del. 1979). 
 
 
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that mandates the timely filing of a notice of appeal.  Thus, the Court 
concludes that this appeal must be dismissed. 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 
29(b), that this appeal is DISMISSED. 
BY THE COURT: 
/s/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr. 
Justice