IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

MATTHEW JONES,

Defendant BelowAppellant,

v.

DOVER POLICE DEPARTMENT,

Plaintiff BelowAppellee.

§

§ No. 410, 2017

§

§

§

§ Court Below—J.P Court No. 7

§ of the State of Delaware

§ in and for Kent County

§ File No. 1705001842

§

§

Submitted: October 12, 2017

 Decided: December 1, 2017

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

O R D E R

This 1

st day of December 2017, upon consideration of the notice to 

show cause and the appellant’s response thereto, it appears to the Court that:

(1) On October 5, 2017, the Court received appellant Matthew 

Jones’ notice of appeal, purporting to appeal from a judgment of guilt entered 

by the Justice of the Peace Court on September 6, 2017. The same day, the 

Senior Court Clerk issued a notice to Jones directing him to show cause why 

his appeal should not be dismissed given the Supreme Court’s lack of 

jurisdiction to hear an appeal directly from the Justice of the Peace Court.

(2) Jones filed a response to the notice to show cause on October 12, 

2017. Although it is not entirely clear, it appears that Dover Police issued a 
-2-

traffic citation to Jones for failing to stop at a stop sign. Jones asserts that he 

was found guilty by the Justice of the Peace Court on September 6, 2017 and 

was forced to pay $119.50 before he could leave the court. Jones asserts that 

he attempted to appeal to the Court of Common Pleas on September 9, 2017 

but that a clerk refused to accept his appeal. Jones contends that he then tried 

to file an appeal in the Superior Court on September 22, 2017 and again on 

September 25, 2017, but that his appeals have been ignored. Jones contends 

that he filed a notice of appeal with this Court in order to avoid being timebarred. 

(3) Jones attaches several documents to his response to the notice to 

show cause. He contends that his documents show that the Court of Common 

Pleas and the Superior Court have refused to accept his appeal. We disagree

with that assertion. At most, Jones’ various attachments show that he drafted

documents purporting to appeal from the Justice of the Peace Court judgment. 

There is no documentation substantiating Jones’ claim that his appeals were 

refused.

(4) Moreover, we note that under 21 Del. C. § 708, a right to appeal 

to the Court of Common Pleas from a traffic violation only exists in cases 

involving the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment or a fine exceeding 
-3-

$100.1 Although Jones attaches a receipt showing that he paid $119.50 to the 

Justice of the Peace Court, that receipt is not proof that his fine for running a 

stop sign exceeded $100. As this Court has held, the amount of the fine for 

determining the minimum jurisdictional amount does not include assessments 

and costs that are compensatory in nature.2 Thus, assessments for the Victims’ 

Compensation Fund and court costs, for example, are excluded from the 

calculation when determining whether a fine meets the jurisdictional 

threshold. Thus, although we cannot determine it from this record, it seems 

likely that Jones failed to meet the jurisdictional threshold to appeal to the 

Court of Common Pleas from the Justice of the Peace Court in this case.

(5) Even if Jones’ fine met the minimum threshold to appeal to the 

Court of Common Pleas, this Court has no jurisdiction to consider his appeal 

directly from the Justice of the Peace Court.3 Thus, Jones’ appeal must be 

dismissed.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the appeal is 

DISMISSED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Karen L. Valihura

Justice

 

1

21 Del. C. § 708(b).

2 Weaver v. State, 779 A.2d 254, 257 (Del. 2001).

3 Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(1)(b).