Title: Kellam v. State

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
STEVEN KELLAM, 
 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
No. 201, 2018 
 
Defendant Below,  
 
§ 
Appellant,  
 
 
§ 
Court Below: Superior Court 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
of the State of Delaware 
v. 
 
 
 
 
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
ID No. 1506014357A 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
§  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
§ 
 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
 
 
§ 
 
Appellee. 
 
 
 
§ 
 
Submitted: June 12, 2019 
Decided: 
June 13, 2019 
 
Before STRINE, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and TRAYNOR, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
(1) 
The appellant and defendant below, Steven Kellam, appeals from jury 
convictions and a sentencing order in the Superior Court for various charges, 
including two counts of first-degree murder, one count of racketeering, and multiple 
counts of home invasion and first-degree robbery.  On appeal, Kellam objects to the 
Superior Court’s admission of certain wiretapped phone calls between him and his 
codefendants and to the limiting instruction that the trial judge gave the jury as to 
the use of those phone calls. 
2 
 
(2) 
As to the admission of the wiretapped calls, we hold that the Superior 
Court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence and affirm on the basis 
of its pertinent rulings from the bench.1 
(3) 
As to the limiting instruction, to which Kellam did not object below, 
we hold that the Superior Court did not commit plain error in giving that instruction.  
The instruction made clear—multiple times—that the jury was to use the calls not 
as character evidence,2 but only to support the State’s claims of a common scheme 
for the racketeering charge and accomplice liability in directing the codefendants to 
commit the other offenses.3 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior 
Court is hereby AFFIRMED. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT:  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Leo E. Strine, Jr. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Justice  
 
                                                          
 
1 App. to Opening Br. at A171–79 (Pretrial Hearing Transcript). 
2 Id. at A1244–45 (Jury Instructions) (“I repeat to you: You may not use this evidence as proof 
that the defendant is a bad person and, therefore, probably committed the charged offenses.”). 
3 Id. (“You may only use the wiretap evidence occurring after January 2015 in considering 
whether the evidence supports or does not support the State’s claims of a common scheme and 
accomplice liability in directing the co-defendants.”).