Novak v. State

• Court: Supreme Court of Delaware
• Decided: January 12, 2026
• Docket: 173, 2025
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STEPHEN NOVAK, § § No. 173, 2025 Defendant Below, § Appellant, § Court Below–Superior Court § of the State of Delaware v. § § Cr. ID No. 2301005645 (N) STATE OF DELAWARE, § § Appellee. §

Submitted: November 7, 2025 Decided: January 12, 2026

Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; VALIHURA and TRAYNOR, Justices.

ORDER

After consideration of the parties’ briefs and the Superior Court record, we

find it evident that the Superior Court’s April 1, 2025 order denying the appellant’s

motion for postconviction relief should be affirmed. By pleading guilty to first

degree assault, Novak waived the right to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence

supporting the conviction.1 To the extent that the appellant believes that his

conviction for first-degree assault required a showing that the victim sustained more

than “only” a broken nose, he is incorrect: the appellant was charged with (and

acknowledged he was guilty of) first-degree assault under 11 Del. C. § 613(a)(3),

1 Soto v. State, 2019 WL 2523486, at *1 (Del. June 18, 2019) (“As a result of his knowing, intelligent, and voluntary no-contest plea, Soto waived his right to challenge the evidence against him.”). which requires a showing that the defendant recklessly engaged in conduct that

created a substantial risk of death to another person, and thereby caused serious

physical injury to the person; and, as the appellant acknowledges, “[a] broken nose

is a ‘serious physical injury’….”2

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior

Court be AFFIRMED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Karen L. Valihura Justice

2 Opening Br. at 11. 2