Morales v. State ( 2014 )

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
MANUEL MORALES, §
§
Defendant Below, § No. 565, 2014
Appellant, §
§
v. § Court Below—Superior Court
§ of the State of Delaware,
STATE OF DELAWARE, § in and for New Castle County
§ Cr. No. 1309012678
Plaintiff Below, §
Appellee. §
Submitted: October 10, 2014
Decided: October 20, 2014
Before STRINE, Chief Justice, RIDGELY, and VALIHURA, Justices.
ORDER
This 20th day of October 2014, it appears to the Court that:
(1) On October 2, 2014, the appellant, Manuel Morales, filed a notice of
appeal from his conviction on criminal charges in the Superior Court on May 20,
2014. The appellant has not yet been sentenced. The Senior Court Clerk issued a
notice to the appellant to show cause why his appeal should not be dismissed for
this Court’s lack of jurisdiction to consider an appeal in a criminal matter in the
Superior Court where the defendant has yet to be sentenced.
(2) The appellant filed a response to the notice to show cause on October
10, 2014. In his response, the appellant states that he is scheduled to be sentenced
on October 31, 2014. The response addresses the merits of the appellant’s appeal,
but does not respond to the jurisdictional limitation raised in the notice to show
cause.
(3) This Court’s jurisdiction in criminal cases is limited to the review of
final judgments.1 A criminal conviction does not become final until the sentence is
imposed.2 The appellant has not yet been sentenced in this case. Accordingly, the
appellant’s conviction is not final and the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider it.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b),
that this appeal is DISMISSED.
BY THE COURT:
/s/ Karen L. Valihura
Justice
1
Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(1)(b).
2
Hunter v. State, 209 A.2d 469, 470 (Del. 1965).
2