IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
ROBERT W. MILLER, §
§ No. 546, 2017
Petitioner Below, §
Appellant, § Court Below: Superior Court of the
§ State of Delaware
v. §
§ C.A. No. N17M-11-154
KOLAWOLE O. AKINBAYO, §
WARDEN, H.R.Y.C.I, §
§
Respondent Below, §
Appellee. §
Submitted: March 16, 2018
Decided: May 21, 2018
Before STRINE, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and VAUGHN, Justices
ORDER
(1) The appellant, Robert W. Miller, filed this appeal from the Superior
Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The appellee, State of
Delaware, has moved to affirm the Superior Court’s judgment on the ground that it
is manifest on the face of Miller’s opening brief that the appeal is without merit.
(2) In 2015, Miller pleaded guilty to a felony offense and was sentenced to
eight years of Level V incarceration followed by six months of Level IV
supervision.1 We affirmed Miller’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal.2
1
State v. Miller, Del. Super., Cr. ID No. 1412002671 (N).
2
Miller v. State, 2016 WL 3410306 (Del. May 18, 2016).
Thereafter, we dismissed Miller’s appeal from the denial of his first motion for
postconviction relief.3 Miller did not appeal the denial of his second postconviction
motion.
(3) On November 22, 2017, Miller filed a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus and a supporting memorandum. By order dated November 27, 2017 the
Superior Court denied the petition after determining that Miller’s commitment was
regular on its face, and that he was not being illegally detained. This appeal
followed.
(4) When a prisoner’s commitment is regular on its face, there can be no
relief through habeas corpus.4 Miller pleaded guilty to a felony offense; his
commitment to serve a sentence for the conviction is valid on its face. Because
Miller is being held under a valid commitment, the Superior Court correctly
determined that his petition and supporting memorandum did not support the
issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.
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/ Karen L. Valihura
Justice
3
Miller v. State, 2017 WL 568362 (Del. Feb. 9, 2017).
4
Hall v. Carr, 692 A.2d 888, 891 (Del. 1997) (quoting 10 Del. C. § 6902(1)).
2