Case Title: Lacombe v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 204, 2022

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2022-09-08T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
CLAUDE LACOMBE, 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Appellee. 
§ 
§   
§  No. 204, 2022 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§   
§  Cr. ID No. 1201018188 (N) 
§ 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
  Submitted:  August 9, 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
  Decided:    September 8, 2022 
 
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and TRAYNOR, Justices. 
 
ORDER 
 
 
After consideration of the appellant’s opening brief, the appellee’s motion to 
affirm, and the record on appeal, we conclude that the judgment below should be 
affirmed on the basis of and for the reasons assigned by the Superior Court in its 
May 13, 2022 order denying the appellant’s third motion for postconviction relief.  
Absent plain error, which we do not find here, we decline to consider the appellant’s 
arguments concerning the rule of lenity, his guilty plea, and United States v. Cronic, 
466 U.S. 648 (1984) that he raises for the first time on appeal.1 
 
1 Del. Supr. Ct. R. 8 (“Only questions fairly presented to the trial court may be presented for 
review; provided, however, that when the interests of justice so require, the Court may consider 
and determine any question not so presented.”). 
2 
 
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