IMO the Petition of Quinton White for a Writ of Mandamus
CourtSupreme Court of Delaware
Date FiledJuly 14, 2026
Docket128, 2026
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
IN THE MATTER OF THE §
PETITION OF QUINTON WHITE § No. 128, 2026
FOR A WRIT OF MANDAMUS §
§
Submitted: May 11, 2026
Decided: July 14, 2026
Before SEITZ, Chief Justice; TRAYNOR and GRIFFITHS, Justices.
ORDER
After consideration of the petition for a writ of mandamus and the State’s
answer and motion to dismiss, it appears to the Court that:
(1) The petitioner, Quinton White, asks this Court to issue a writ of
mandamus under Supreme Court Rule 43 directing the Superior Court to produce
the audio recordings of “every proceeding” in two criminal cases, State v. White,
Crim. Action No. 2407001362, and State v. White, Crim. Action No. 2407005207.
The State, as the real party in interest, has filed an answer and motion to dismiss the
petition. After careful review, we conclude that the petition is without merit and must
be dismissed.
(2) A writ of mandamus will issue to a trial court only if the petitioner can
show: (i) a clear right to the performance of a duty; (ii) that no other adequate remedy
is available; and (iii) that the trial court has arbitrarily failed or refused to perform
its duty.1 “[I]n the absence of a clear showing of an arbitrary refusal or failure to act,
this Court will not issue a writ of mandamus to compel a trial court to perform a
particular judicial function, to decide a matter in a particular way, or to dictate the
control of its docket.”2
(3) There is no basis for the issuance of a writ of mandamus here. White
does not have a clear right to the production of the audio recordings of the Superior
Court proceedings. Although White contends that the transcripts must be reviewed
for errors, “the authority to review transcripts for errors lies with the Superior Court
itself.”3 To that end, White also has an adequate remedy available: he may ask the
Superior Court to review the transcripts for accuracy.4 But White is not entitled to a
writ of mandamus.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the State’s motion to
dismiss is GRANTED. The petition for a writ of mandamus is DISMISSED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Collins J. Seitz, Jr.
Chief Justice
1
Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(e).
2
In re Bordley¸545 A.2d 619, 620 (Del. 1988).
3
In re Montgomery, 2020 WL 1062087, at *1 (Del. Mar. 4, 2020).
4
But see State v. Montgomery, 2021 WL 1784768, at *1 (Del. Super. Ct. May 5, 2021) (observing
that federal courts have held that a court reporter’s transcript is presumed to be correct and,
although the presumption may be rebutted, the “evidence necessary to rebut the presumption must
be something more than a party’s own mere speculation, belief or recollection of the record”).
2