S. Ct. Civ. No. 2015-0112

Considering a habeas petitioner's appeal from an order of the Superior Court denying his filing styled as a "motion for writ of habeas," the Superior Court abused its discretion by treating this filing as a second habeas corpus petition instead of analyzing it as a motion for relief from its earlier order, entered on April 7, 2015, denying his December 10, 2014 petition seeking a writ of habeas corpus. The legal standards applicable to consideration of a habeas corpus petition and a motion for relief from a judgment or order differ markedly. Here, although much of petitioner's August 14, 2015 filing recites arguments similar to those made in his December 10, 2014 habeas petition, it does so in order to explain why the Superior Court erred when it refused to reach the merits of that petition. Consequently, since petitioner's August 14, 2015 filing is, in substance, an argument that the Superior Court erred in denying his December 10, 2014 habeas petition, the Superior Court should have construed the August 14, 2015 filing as a motion for relief from that Court's April 7, 2015 order. The record reflects that the Superior Court failed to consider whether the petitioner was entitled to relief from its April 7, 2015 order, and since it failed to apply the correct legal standard when ruling on his August 14, 2015 motion, the October 21, 2015 order denying that motion constitutes an abuse of discretion, and is reversed. The matter is remanded so that the Superior Court can consider the petitioner's August 14, 2015 motion under the appropriate standard.