Title: Morales v. State
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 565, 2014
State: Delaware
Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court
Date: October 20, 2014

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
MANUEL MORALES, 
 
Defendant Below, 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below, 
Appellee. 
§ 
§   
§  No. 565, 2014 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware, 
§  in and for New Castle County 
§  Cr. No. 1309012678 
§   
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
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, 
2 
 
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).