Title: Barrall v. State

State: delaware

Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court

Document:

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
WILLIAM BARRALL, 
 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§ 
§  No.  245, 2013 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware, 
§  in and for Sussex County 
§  Cr. ID 1201003157 
§   
§ 
 
Submitted: July 26, 2013 
Decided: 
August 23, 2013 
 
Before BERGER, JACOBS, and RIDGELY, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
This 23rd day of August 2013, upon consideration of the appellant’s opening 
brief and the State’s motion to affirm, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) The appellant, William Barrall, filed this appeal from a Superior Court 
order denying his second motion for modification of sentence.  The State has filed 
a motion to affirm the judgment below on the ground that it is manifest on the face 
of Barrall’s opening brief that his appeal is without merit.  We agree and affirm. 
(2) In January 2012, Barrall was arrested and later indicted on twenty-five 
counts of Unlawfully Dealing in Child Pornography, a class B felony.1  In April 
2012, Barrall pled guilty to four counts of the indictment.  In exchange for his 
                                                 
1 DEL. CODE ANN. tit. 11, § 1109(4) (Supp. 2012). 
 
2
guilty plea, the State agreed to dismiss the remaining twenty-one counts of the 
indictment and agreed to recommend a sentence of twelve years at Level V 
incarceration.2  The Superior Court, after an extensive colloquy, accepted the plea 
agreement and sentenced Barrall in accordance with his plea agreement to 100 
years at Level V incarceration to be suspended after serving twelve years for a 
period of probation.  Barrall did not appeal. 
(3) Instead, Barrall filed a motion for sentence modification in September 
2012, which the Superior Court denied.  Barrall did not appeal.  He filed his 
second motion for modification of sentence in March 2013.  The Superior Court 
denied that motion, and this appeal followed. 
(4) Barrall asserts two arguments in his opening brief on appeal.  First, he 
contends that the Superior Court abused its discretion in denying his motion 
because there were no facts that justified the imposition of more than the 
mandatory minimum sentence of eight years.  Second, Barrall asserts that public 
policy compels reversal in his case.   
(5) We find no merit to either contention.  Barrall’s arguments completely 
ignore that his sentence was entered pursuant to a valid guilty plea.  The transcript 
reflects that Barrall entered the plea knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily.  His 
                                                 
2 As a Class B felony, Unlawfully Dealing in Child Pornography has a sentencing range of not 
less than two years up to twenty-five years at Level V imprisonment pursuant to DEL. CODE 
ANN. tit. 11, § 4205(b)(2). 
 
3
agreement to plead guilty to four charges and to accept the State’s recommendation 
of a twelve year prison sentence was extremely favorable to Barrall.  Barrall 
avoided a trial on twenty-five criminal charges that, if he were found guilty on all 
counts, carried a maximum sentence of 625 years in prison.   
(6) Pursuant to Superior Court Criminal Rule 35(b), a motion for reduction 
of sentence must be filed within 90 days of sentencing unless the defendant can 
establish extraordinary circumstances.3  Rule 35(b) also provides that the Superior 
Court will not consider repetitive requests for sentence modification.4  This was 
Barrall’s second motion for modification of sentence, and it was filed more than 90 
days after he was originally sentenced.  Barrall’s motion for modification of 
sentence did not establish any extraordinary circumstances.  Accordingly, we find 
no abuse of the Superior Court’s discretion in denying Barrall’s untimely and 
repetitive motion for modification of sentence. 
 NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior 
Court is AFFIRMED. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Jack B. Jacobs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Justice 
                                                 
3 DEL. SUPER. CT. CRIM. R. 35(b) (2013). 
4 Id.