IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

BERNARD WOODS, §

§ No. 496, 2014

Defendant-Below, §

Appellant, § Court Below: Superior Court

§ of the State of Delaware in and 

v. § for New Castle County

§

STATE OF DELAWARE, § Cr. ID No. 0708031045

§

Plaintiff-Below, §

Appellee. §

Submitted: November 19, 2014

Decided: January 27, 2015

Before STRINE, Chief Justice; HOLLAND and VALIHURA, Justices.

O R D E R

This 27th day of January 2015, upon consideration of the appellant‟s 

opening brief and the appellee‟s motion to affirm, it appears to the Court that:

(1) The appellant, Bernard Woods, filed this appeal from the Superior 

Court‟s denial of his third motion for postconviction relief under Superior Court 

Criminal Rule 61 (“Rule 61”).1 The appellee, State of Delaware, has moved to 

affirm the judgment of the Superior Court on the ground that it is manifest on the 

face of Woods‟ opening brief that the appeal is without merit. We agree and 

affirm.

 

1

State v. Woods, 2014 WL 4364903 (Del. Super. Aug. 27, 2014).
2

(2) It appears from the record that Woods pled guilty in 2008 to two drug 

offenses, two weapons offenses, and one count of second degree conspiracy. Two 

months after his guilty plea and sentencing, Woods filed a motion for reduction of 

sentence, which was denied. Two months after the denial of his motion for 

reduction of sentence, Woods filed his first motion for postconviction relief. 

(3) Woods‟ postconviction motion raised overlapping claims of 

prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, insufficient evidence, 

and involuntary guilty plea, based on allegations that he was coerced into pleading 

guilty to “fraudulent” weapon offenses. After receiving responses from defense 

counsel and the State, a Superior Court Commissioner issued a report 

recommending that the motion be denied as procedurally barred and without merit. 

The Commissioner found that the prosecutorial misconduct claim was barred under 

Rule 61(i)(4) because Woods had raised a similar claim of “malicious prosecution” 

in his unsuccessful motion for reduction of sentence. The Commissioner found 

that the involuntary guilty plea claim was not supported by the record. After 

analyzing the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and insufficient evidence, 

the Commissioner found that both claims were without merit and also that the 

insufficient evidence claim was waived by Woods‟ voluntary guilty plea. 

(4) By order dated September 10, 2009, after de novo review, the 

Superior Court accepted the report and recommendation and denied the motion. 
3

On appeal, Woods continued to argue that his defense counsel was ineffective for 

failing to pursue a motion to suppress and for coercing him into pleading guilty to 

“fraudulent” weapon offenses. This Court denied Woods‟ first motion for 

postconviction relief in an order dated April 26, 2010.2 We affirmed the Superior 

Court‟s judgment after finding that defense counsel had, in fact, filed a pretrial 

motion to suppress and other pretrial motions.3 We also found that:

During the course of the plea colloquy, Woods expressed 

satisfaction with the representation provided by his 

counsel. He also acknowledged that he was pleading 

guilty because he, in fact, was guilty. He acknowledged 

his understanding that he was waiving certain rights by 

pleading guilty, including his right to pursue the pretrial 

suppression motion. The Superior Court specifically 

found that Woods was competent to enter a plea and that 

his plea was entered knowingly, intelligently, and 

voluntarily. The trial court reviewed the sentence with 

Woods, and Woods acknowledged that it was the 

sentence he agreed to in his plea form. Woods also 

stated under oath that no one had coerced him into 

entering a plea.4

(5) Woods filed his second motion for postconviction relief in June 2010, 

again alleging that his guilty plea was involuntary due to prosecutorial misconduct 

and ineffective assistance of counsel. By report dated June 23, 2010, the 

Commissioner recommended that the motion should be summarily dismissed under 

 

2 Woods v. State, 2010 WL 1664008 (Del. Apr. 26, 2010).

3

Id., at *2.

4

Id., at *2 ¶ 8.
4

the procedural bars of Rule 61(i) because it was “substantially similar, if not 

identical” to Woods‟ first postconviction motion. On July 7, 2010, after de novo

review, the Superior Court denied the motion. On appeal, we again affirmed the 

Superior Court judgment, concluding that the court “did not err in adopting the 

Commissioner‟s findings that appellant‟s second motion for postconviction relief 

was both repetitive and previously adjudicated and that appellant had failed to 

overcome these procedural hurdles.”5

(6) Undaunted by the denial of his first and second postconviction 

motions, Woods next sought relief in the federal court, filing a habeas corpus 

petition raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial 

misconduct, unknowing and involuntary guilty plea, illegal search and seizure, 

insufficient evidence, and actual innocence. In a memorandum opinion dated 

September 11, 2013, the United States District Court considered the claims and

denied relief.6

(7) Woods filed his third motion for postconviction relief in March 2014, 

again alleging that his guilty plea was involuntary due to ineffective assistance of 

counsel. Also, in related motions, letters and memoranda, Woods requested the 

 

5 Woods v. State, 2011 WL 339698 (Del. Feb. 1, 2011). 

6 Woods v. Pierce, 967 F.Supp.2d 1013 (D. Del. Sept. 11, 2013).
5

appointment of counsel, an evidentiary hearing, and permission to expand the 

record, arguing that he was innocent of the weapon offenses. 

(8) By memorandum opinion dated August 27, 2014, the Superior Court 

denied relief, ruling that the motion was untimely and repetitive under Rule 

61(i)(1) and (2), and that the claims were either formerly adjudicated under Rule 

61(i)(4) or procedurally defaulted under Rule 61(i)(3). The court denied the 

requests for counsel and for an evidentiary hearing on the basis that Woods had not 

demonstrated good cause for the appointment of counsel or that there would be 

“any value” in an evidentiary hearing. The court denied the request to expand the 

record on the basis that Woods had not identified any new or additional evidence. 

When ruling that Woods‟ claims for relief did not warrant review under Rule 

61(i)(5), the court found that:

Defendant repeatedly asserts that his plea was somehow 

based on fraud, but has not referred to any specific 

incidences of misconduct or otherwise provided a 

coherent explanation of his claim. Defendant implicitly 

claims that trial counsel hid mitigating evidence from 

Defendant, but fails to provide this Court with evidence, 

or any method upon which to judge the veracity of his 

claim. By pleading guilty, Defendant effectively waived 

any errors or defects occurring prior to the entry of the 

plea. Defendant has failed to substantiate or make any 

evidentiary showing that he did not understand the nature 

or associated penalties of the charges to which he pled. 

Defendant fails to establish a violation of his Sixth 

Amendment right, and fails to establish that there was a 
6

miscarriage of justice because of a constitutional 

violation pursuant to Rule 61(i)(5).7

(9) We review the Superior Court‟s denial of postconviction relief for 

abuse of discretion and questions of law de novo.

8

The procedural requirements of 

Rule 61 must be considered before addressing any substantive issues.9 

(10) In this case, having considered the applicable Rule 61 procedural 

bars,10 we conclude that Woods‟ third postconviction motion is procedurally barred 

under Rule 61(i)(1) – (4).

11

 On appeal, Woods has not established that his motion 

raises a colorable claim of a manifest injustice because of a constitutional 

violation12 or a newly-recognized retroactively applicable right.13 Nor has he 

 

7

State v. Woods, 2014 WL 4364903, at *3 (Del. Super. Aug. 27, 2014) (citations omitted).

8 Dawson v. State, 673 A.2d 1186, 1190 (Del. 1996).

9

Younger v. State, 580 A.2d 552, 554 (Del. 1990).

10 Woods‟ third postconviction motion, filed in March 2014, was governed by the version of 

Rule 61 then in effect. Effective June 4, 2014, Rule 61 was amended to include a procedural 

mechanism for summarily dismissing a second or subsequent postconviction motion before 

considering the Rule 61(i) procedural bars. 

11 See Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(i)(1) (2013) (barring postconviction motion filed more than 

one year after the judgment of conviction is final); id. at (i)(2) (barring any ground for relief not 

asserted in a prior proceeding as required under (b)(2)); id. at (i)(3) (barring any ground for relief 

not asserted in the proceedings leading to the judgment of conviction); id. at (i)(4) (barring 

formerly adjudicated claim). 

12 See Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(i)(5) (providing that the procedural bars of (i)(1), (2), and (3) 

shall not apply to a colorable claim that there was a miscarriage of justice because of a 

constitutional violation).

13 See Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(i)(1) (providing that an untimely motion may be considered 

when the movant asserts a newly recognized retroactively applicable right).
7

shown any indication that consideration of his third postconviction motion or a 

formerly adjudicated claim is warranted in the interest of justice.14 

(11) We also conclude that the Superior Court did not err or abuse its 

discretion when denying the requests for the appointment of counsel, for an 

evidentiary hearing, and to expand the record, which were largely based upon 

Woods‟ claim of “actual innocence,” which was considered and denied by the 

District Court.15 “[A] defendant is not entitled to have a court re-examine an issue 

that has been previously resolved „simply because the claim is refined or 

restated.‟”16

(12) For the third time in five years, this Court on appellate review has 

considered Woods‟ challenges to his 2008 guilty plea and has affirmed the 

Superior Court judgment after concluding that the claims were without merit, 

procedurally barred, or both. In the future, should Woods again seek 

postconviction relief from his 2008 guilty plea, this Court will not invest judicial 

resources addressing claims previously considered and rejected by the Superior 

 

14 See Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(i)(4) (2013) (providing that a formerly adjudicated claim may 

be considered in the “interest of justice”). 

15 Woods v. Pierce, 967 F.Supp.2d 1013, 1029 (D. Del. Sept. 11, 2013).

16 Skinner v. State, 607 A.2d 1170, 1172 (Del. 1992) (quoting Riley v. State, 585 A.2d 719, 721 

(Del. 1990)). 
8

Court, the United States District Court, or this Court. We encourage Woods to be 

mindful of Rule 61(j).17

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the State‟s motion to affirm is 

GRANTED. The judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Leo E. Strine, Jr.

Chief Justice

 

17 Del. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 61(j) (“If a motion is denied, the state may move for an order 

requiring the movant to reimburse the state for costs and expenses paid for the movant from 

public funds.”).