Chauncey S. Starling, Defendant Below, Appellant v. State of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed the denial of Starling’s postconviction motion and remanded for a new trial. It held that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to elicit important exculpatory testimony from an eyewitness and for failing to object to the admission of a potentially involuntary statement, and that the State violated its disclosure obligations by misrepresenting the status of its principal witness’s charges. The cumulative effect of these errors undermined confidence in the verdict. Justice Vaughn, concurring, agreed that the disclosure violation warranted a new trial but disagreed that the two alleged instances of ineffective assistance were prejudicial.