Waples v. State

• Court: Supreme Court of Delaware
• Decided: July 20, 2020
• Docket: 161, 2020
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

RHAMIR WAPLES, § § No. 161, 2020 Defendant Below, § Appellant, § Court Below—Superior Court § of the State of Delaware v. § § Cr. ID No. 1506014219A (S) STATE OF DELAWARE, § § Plaintiff Below, § Appellee. §

Submitted: June 4, 2020 Decided: July 20, 2020

ORDER

(1) In this appeal from the Superior Court’s denial of his motion for

postconviction relief, the appellant, Rhamir Waples, seeks to stay the appeal so that

he may present to the Superior Court certain mental health records. For the reasons

stated below, the motion is denied.

(2) On March 8, 2017, a Superior Court jury found Waples guilty of two

counts of first-degree murder, fifteen counts of possession of a firearm during the

commission of a felony, first-degree conspiracy, home invasion, two counts of first-

degree robbery, and second-degree conspiracy. Waples faced two life sentences plus

452 years of imprisonment. His counsel filed a motion to dismiss or, in the

alternative, for a new trial, which the Superior Court denied. The State and the defense then entered into an agreement under which the convictions would be

vacated if Waples pleaded guilty to various charges. On February 22, 2018, the

Superior Court vacated the convictions and Waples pleaded guilty to second-degree

murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, home invasion,

and second-degree conspiracy. The court imposed the sentence that was

recommended as part of the plea agreement.

(3) On December 14, 2018, Waples filed a motion for postconviction relief.

The court appointed postconviction counsel. On April 15, 2020, the Superior Court

granted postconviction counsel’s motion to withdraw and denied the motion for

postconviction relief, holding that the grounds for postconviction relief that Waples

had asserted were without merit and that the record reflected no other meritorious

grounds for postconviction relief. Waples has appealed to this Court and now seeks

a stay of the appeal in order to have the opportunity to present to the Superior Court

certain mental-health records from his childhood.

(4) The motion to stay is denied. “It is a basic tenet of appellate practice

that an appellate court reviews only matters considered in the first instance by a trial

court.”1 Because the mental-health records were not presented to the Superior Court

in the postconviction proceedings in the first instance, they offer no basis for

reversing the Superior Court’s denial of postconviction relief. Moreover, Waples

1 Del. Elec. Coop., Inc. v. Duphily, 703 A.2d 1202, 1206 (Del. 1997). 2 has not demonstrated why he could not have obtained the records and presented them

to the Superior Court between February 2018, when he pleaded guilty, and April

2020, when the motion for postconviction relief was denied.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Stay Appeal is

DENIED.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Gary F. Traynor Justice