Townsend v. Delaware

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE STEPHEN L. TOWNSEND, §

§

Defendant Below, § No. 418, 2024 Appellant, §

§ Court Below: Family Court v. § of the State of Delaware §

STATE OF DELAWARE, § Cr. ID No. 2405001673 §

Appellee. §

Submitted: October 15, 2024 Decided: October 24, 2024 ORDER

On September 23, 2024, Stephen L. Townsend filed this appeal from an August 5, 2024 order entered by a Family Court Commissioner in a criminal matter. The Senior Court Clerk issued, by certified mail, a notice directing Townsend to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed because (i) this Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain, in the first instance, an appeal from Family Court in a criminal matter,1 and (ii) the appeal was untimely filed.2 The notice instructed Townsend to respond within ten days and advised that if he did not respond, dismissal of the appeal would be deemed to be unopposed. On October 2, 2024, the Court received the certified mail receipt indicating that the notice had been delivered. The appellant having failed to respond to the notice to show cause within the required ten-day period, dismissal of this action is deemed to be unopposed.

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the appeal is DISMISSED under Supreme Court Rules 3(b) and 29(b).

BY THE COURT:

/s/ Abigail M. LeGrow Justice