Case Title: Worley v. State

Citation: 

Docket Number: 636, 2010

State: delaware

Court: Delaware Supreme Court

Date: 2011-04-12T00:00:00Z

Document:
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
ROBERT L. WORLEY, 
 
Defendant Below- 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE,  
 
          Plaintiff Below- 
Appellee. 
§ 
§  No. 636, 2010 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below─Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware 
§  in and for New Castle County 
§  Cr. ID No. 0812010097 
§ 
§ 
§ 
 
                                      Submitted: February 25, 2011 
 
 
 
 
   Decided: April 12, 2011 
 
Before STEELE, Chief Justice, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
O R D E R  
 
 
This 12th day of April 2011, upon consideration of the briefs of the 
parties and the record below, it appears to the Court that: 
 
(1) 
The defendant-appellant, Robert L. Worley, filed an appeal 
from the Superior Court’s September 23, 2010 violation of probation 
(“VOP”) sentencing order.  For the reasons that follow, this matter will be 
remanded to the Superior Court for modification of its VOP sentencing order 
in accordance herewith. 
 
(2) 
The record before us reflects that, in January 2009, Worley 
pleaded guilty to Assault in the Second Degree and Assault in the Third 
Degree.  He was sentenced on March 13, 2009.  On the first assault 
 
2
conviction, he was sentenced to 6 years at Level V, to be suspended after 1 
year for 3 years of Level IV Halfway House, in turn to be suspended after 6 
months for 2 years at Level III probation.  On the second assault conviction, 
he was sentenced to 6 months at Level V, to be suspended after 1 month for 
5 months of Level III probation, concurrent with the probationary portion of 
his sentence for his first assault conviction.   
 
(3) 
In September 2010, Worley was found to have committed a 
VOP with respect to both of his sentences for assault.  He was discharged as 
unimproved as to the VOP on his third degree assault sentence.  As to the 
VOP on his second degree assault sentence, the Superior Court re-sentenced 
Worley to 6 years at Level V, to be suspended after 1 year for 6 months at 
Level IV, with no probation to follow, thereby re-imposing his original 
Level V sentence.   
 
(4) 
In this appeal, Worley claims that his VOP sentence for second 
degree assault did not properly take account of the 1 year of Level V time he 
served on his original sentence. 
 
(5) 
When a defendant is found to have committed a VOP, the 
Superior Court is authorized to reimpose any previously suspended Level V 
term.1  Likewise, when a defendant has actually served time at Level V, he is 
                                                 
1 Gamble v. State, 728 A.2d 1171, 1172 (Del. 1999); Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §4334(c). 
 
3
entitled to credit for that time when further incarceration at Level V is 
imposed after a VOP.2     
 
(6) 
In this case, the Superior Court’s VOP sentencing order does 
not, on its face, give credit to Worley for the year he spent at Level V on his 
original sentence---that is, it re-imposes a 6-year Level V sentence, 1 year of 
which Worley has already served.  The State argues, perhaps correctly, that, 
in the particular circumstances of this case, the form of the sentencing order 
will not ultimately result in Worley serving more Level V time than was 
imposed in his original sentencing order.  However, we conclude that, in the 
interest of clarity, this matter must be remanded to the Superior Court for 
modification of its September 23, 2010 sentencing order to explicitly give 
Worley credit for all Level V time he has served, in a manner that reflects 
the original intent of the sentencing judge. 
 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that this matter is remanded 
to the Superior Court for further proceedings in accordance with this Order.  
Jurisdiction is not retained. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Henry duPont Ridgely 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
    
 
                                                 
2 Id.