Smith v. Salas

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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE FREDERICK W. SMITH, JR., Plaintiff BelowAppellant, v. LT. JOHN SALAS, Defendant BelowAppellee. § § § § § § § § § § § No. 438, 2010 Court Below Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County C.A. No. 10C-03-234 Submitted: July 27, 2010 Decided: September 20, 2010 Before HOLLAND, BERGER, and JACOBS, Justices. ORDER This 20th day of September 2010, upon consideration of the appellant s opening brief and the State s motion to affirm, it appears to the Court that: (1) The appellant, Frederick Smith, is an inmate incarcerated under the supervision of the Delaware Department of Correction ( DOC ). The appellee is employed by the DOC. Smith filed this appeal from the Superior Court s dismissal of his complaint alleging that he had been illegally fired from his prison job without a hearing. The State of Delaware, as the real party in interest, has filed a motion to affirm the judgment below on the ground that it is manifest on the face of Smith s opening brief that his appeal is without merit. We agree and affirm. (2) Delaware law is well-established. An inmate has no protected liberty interest in a prison work assignment.1 Accordingly, Smith s complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. Thus, we find it manifest that the judgment below should be affirmed on the basis of the Superior Court=s well-reasoned decision dated June 30, 2010. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. BY THE COURT: /s/ Carolyn Berger Justice 1 See Clough v. State, 686 A.2d 158, 159 (Del. 1996); Mosley v. Klein, 2003 WL 728550 (Del. Feb. 28, 2003). 2

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