State v. Clark

Summary

The Delaware Superior Court grants Marhi Clark’s motion to transfer criminal charges to Family Court under 10 Del. C. § 1011. The court concludes that the State failed to establish a prima facie case for First-Degree Robbery, the charge that provided Superior Court jurisdiction over the juvenile, because the evidence did not show that Clark used or threatened force to retain the firearm. The court therefore transfers the case to Family Court without reaching the statutory reverse-amenability factors.

Holdings

1. The State failed to establish a prima facie case for Robbery First Degree because the evidence did not show that Clark used or threatened the immediate use of force to take or retain the firearm.
2. Because the State did not establish a prima facie case for the only charged offense enumerated as vesting the Superior Court with original jurisdiction, the Superior Court lacked original jurisdiction over the case.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the State established a prima facie case for Robbery First Degree, the charge that supplied the Superior Court's original jurisdiction over Clark.
2. Whether the charges should be transferred from Superior Court to Family Court under Delaware's reverse amenability procedure.

Disposition

other