Title: Bishop v. State

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
SAMUEL BISHOP, 
 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
No. 146, 2016 
 
Defendant Below,  
 
§ 
 
Appellant,  
 
 
§ 
Court Below—Superior Court  
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
of the State of Delaware   
v. 
 
 
 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
Cr. ID No. 86013220DI 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
 
 
§ 
  
 
Appellee. 
 
 
 
§  
 
Submitted: April 11, 2016 
Decided: 
June 2, 2016 
 
Before HOLLAND, VALIHURA and VAUGHN, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
This 2nd day of June 2016, upon consideration of the notice to show cause 
and the appellant’s response, it appears to the Court that: 
 
(1) 
The appellant, Samuel Bishop, has appealed the Superior Court’s 
order of March 8, 2016, denying his “motion for discovery and inspection.”  
Bishop’s motion sought a copy of the available pretrial discovery from his 1979 
convictions for Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the First Degree. 
 
(2) 
On March 29, 2016, the Clerk issued a notice to Bishop to show cause 
why the appeal should not be dismissed based on this Court’s lack of jurisdiction 
to consider an interlocutory appeal in a criminal case.  Bishop has filed a response 
2 
 
to the notice to show cause, explaining that he needs the pretrial discovery “to 
develop a factual record” to support a postconviction motion he intends to file.   
 
(3) 
Under the Delaware Constitution only a final judgment may be 
reviewed by the Court in a criminal case.1 In this case, the Superior Court’s denial 
of Bishop’s motion for discovery and inspection is not a final order and cannot be 
appealed to this Court prior to the entry of a final order on a postconviction 
motion.2 
 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b), 
that the appeal is DISMISSED. 
  
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Karen L. Valihura  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                          
 
1 Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(1)(b).  
2 Accord Ridley v. State, 2014 WL 1875483 (Del. May 6, 2014) (citing Del. Const. art. IV, § 
11(1)(b)); St. Louis v. State, 2012 WL 130877 (Del. Jan. 17, 2012) (citing Robinson v. State, 704 
A.2d 269, 271 (Del. 1998)); Browne v. State, 1992 WL 21146 (Del. Jan. 21, 1992) (citing 
Gannett Co., Inc. v. State, 565 A.2d 895, 899 (Del. 1989)).