Title: O'Brien v. State
Citation: N/A
Docket Number: 698, 2009
State: Delaware
Issuer: Delaware Supreme Court
Date: July 7, 2010

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE 
 
SHAUN O’BRIEN, 
 
 
Defendant Below- 
Appellant, 
 
v. 
 
STATE OF DELAWARE, 
 
Plaintiff Below- 
Appellee. 
§ 
§ 
§  No. 698, 2009 
§ 
§ 
§  Court Below—Superior Court 
§  of the State of Delaware, 
§  in and for New Castle County 
§  Cr. ID 0712016547 
§   
§ 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted: May 14, 2010 
 
 
 
 
  Decided: July 7, 2010 
 
Before STEELE, Chief Justice, HOLLAND, and RIDGELY, Justices. 
 
O R D E R 
 
This 7th day of July 2010, after careful consideration of the parties’ 
briefs and the record on appeal, it appears to the Court that: 
(1) 
The appellant, Shaun O’Brien, filed this appeal from the 
Superior Court’s order, dated November 9, 2009, which denied his motion for 
correction of an illegal sentence.  The State concedes that O’Brien’s sentence 
exceeds the maximum statutorily-authorized sentence and, thus, must be 
corrected.  We agree.  Accordingly, the judgment below shall be reversed and 
the matter remanded for entry of a corrected sentencing order. 
 
2
(2) 
 The record reflects that O’Brien was arrested in December 2007 
and later pled guilty to count of second degree unlawful sexual contact.1  At 
the time of his offense, second degree unlawful sexual contact was a class G 
felony for which the maximum sentence was two years at Level V 
incarceration.2  The Superior Court sentenced O’Brien on July 11, 2008 to the 
maximum sentence of two years at Level V incarceration, to be followed by 
one year at Level III probation.    
(3) 
In his motion for correction of an illegal sentence, O’Brien 
argued that his original sentence was illegal because the one-year period of 
transitional probation exceeded the statutory maximum period of six months.3  
The State concedes O’Brien’s point, and we agree.  Having sentenced 
O’Brien to the statutory maximum sentence, the Superior Court was not 
authorized to impose more than a six-month period of transitional supervision 
following O’Brien’s incarceration.4  Thus, the Superior Court’s imposition of 
                                                 
1 11 Del. C. § 768 (2007). 
2 11 Del. C. § 4205(b)(7) (2007).  Section 768 was later amended, effective July 10, 
2009, to reclassify second degree unlawful sexual contact as a Class F felony, thus 
increasing the maximum sentence to three years at Level V incarceration. 
3 11 Del. C. § 4204(l) (requiring the Superior Court, for any sentence exceeding 
one year imprisonment, to impose an additional period of transitional supervision of not 
less than six months). 
4 See Larson v. State, 1995 WL 236650 (Del. Apr. 13, 1995) (holding that, when 
the Superior Court imposes the statutory maximum sentence upon a defendant, the follow-
up period of transitional supervision under 11 Del. C. § 4204(l) may not exceed six 
months).  
 
3
a one-year period of probation following O’Brien’s two-year maximum 
sentence was illegal as a matter of law.  
(4) 
Accordingly, the Superior Court erred in refusing to correct 
O’Brien’s sentence to reduce his period of probation from one year to six 
months.  Therefore, the judgment below shall be reversed and this matter 
shall be remanded for correction of O’Brien’s sentence.  
 
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the 
Superior Court is REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings in 
accordance with this order. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BY THE COURT: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Myron T. Steele 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chief Justice