Smith v. State - Affirmation of Sentence Judgment

Delaware Court Opinions

Filed March 26th, 2026

Detected March 28th, 2026

Summary

The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Superior Court judgment denying a motion to correct an illegally imposed sentence in the case of Smith v. State. The appellate court found no plain error in the lower court's decision and declined to consider arguments raised for the first time on appeal.

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What changed

The Delaware Supreme Court has affirmed the Superior Court's judgment in the case of Julius Smith v. State of Delaware (Cr. ID No. 2105000991 (N)). The appellate court's decision, issued on March 26, 2026, upholds the Superior Court's order from June 2, 2025, which denied the defendant's motion to correct an illegally imposed sentence. The Supreme Court found no plain error and will not consider arguments presented for the first time on appeal.

This ruling means the original sentence stands. The defendant, Julius Smith, has exhausted his appeals regarding the sentence correction. Legal professionals involved in criminal defense in Delaware should note the court's strict adherence to appellate rules regarding the timely raising of issues and the high bar for demonstrating plain error in sentence correction motions.

Source document (simplified)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Submitted: January 23, 2026 Decided: March 26, 2026 Before TRAYNOR, LEGROW, and GRIFFITHS, Justices.

ORDER

After consideration of the parties’ briefs and the record on appeal, we conclude that the judgment below should be affirmed on the basis of and for the reasons stated in the Superior Court’s order, dated June 2, 2025, denying the motion to correct an illegally imposed sentence. Absent plain error, which we do not find here, we decline to consider the arguments that the appellant raises for the first time on appeal. 1 JULIUS SMITH, § § § No. 290, 2025 Defendant Below, § Appellant, Del. Supr. Ct. R. 8. § Court Below—Superior Court 1§ of the State of Delaware v. § STATE OF DELAWARE, § Cr. ID No. 2105000991 (N) § § Appellee.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the Superior Court’s judgment is AFFIRMED. BY THE COURT: /s/ Abigail M. LeGrow Justice