State v. Finney

Opinion

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

STATE OF DELAWARE ) ) ID No. 1802014360 v. ) ) MELVIN W. FINNEY ) ) Defendant. )

Date submitted: September 2, 2025 Date decided: September 17, 2025

Upon Commissioner’s Report and Recommendation that Defendant’s Motion for Postconviction Relief Should be Denied - ADOPTED.

Upon Commissioner’s Report and Recommendation that Defendant’s Motion to be Exonerated Should be Denied - ADOPTED.

Upon Commissioner’s Report and Recommendation that Rule 61 Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Should be Granted - ADOPTED

ORDER

The Court having considered the Commissioner’s Report and

Recommendation, for the following reasons, it is ADOPTED.

1. On September 16, 2020, Defendant Melvin W. Finney (“Finney”) filed

a pro se Amended Motion for Postconviction Relief.1 Finney filed a supplement to

his amended motion on January 30, 2024 (together, the “Postconviction Motion”).

On September 25, 2020, the Court appointed Rule 61 Counsel.2 After a stay to allow

1 D.I. 80. 2 D.I. 84. time for statements to be transcribed and an extension of time to file a further

amended motion or a motion to withdraw, Rule 61 Counsel filed a Motion to

Withdraw as Postconviction Counsel, pursuant to Rule 61(e)(6) on January 3, 2023

(“Motion to Withdraw”).3 On April 3, 2025, Finney filed a Motion to be

Exonerated.4

2. The Court referred the motions to a Superior Court Commissioner

under 10 Del. C. § 512 and Superior Court Criminal Rule 62.5

3. On August 18, 2025, the Commissioner issued her Report and

Recommendation (the “Report”).6 The Commissioner recommended that the Court

deny the Postconviction Motion and the Motion to be Exonerated and to grant the

Motion to Withdraw. Under Rule 62, “[w]ithin 10 days after filing of a

Commissioner’s proposed findings of fact and recommendations …, any party may

serve and file written objections the Commissioner’s order.”7 Accordingly, any

objections had to be filed by September 2, 2025.8

4. No objections have been filed. Finney, therefore, waived his right to

object to the Report.9 Accordingly, the Court hereby adopts the Commissioner’s

3 D.I. 96-97. 4 D.I. 134. 5 D.I. 112. 6 D.I. 135. 7 Super. Ct. Crim. R. 62(a)(5)(ii). 8 Because the period is less than 11 days, intervening weekends and holidays are excluded from the computation of time. Super. Ct. Crim. R. 45(a). September 1, 2025 was a legal holiday, so the time for filing objections was extended to September 2, 2025. 9 State v. Williams, 2019 WL 1983407, at *1 (Del. Super. Apr. 30, 2019). 2 Report in its entirety and Finney’s Postconviction Motion and Motion to be

Exonerated are DENIED and the Motion to Withdraw is GRANTED.

/s/Kathleen M. Miller Kathleen M. Miller, Judge

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Original to Prothonotary cc: Melvin W. Finney (SBI# 00183868) Diana A. Dunn, Esq. Benjamin S. Gifford, IV, Esq. Ralph D. Wilkinson, Esq.