Opinion ID: 1890991
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Continuance Properly Granted

Text: Trawick's first argument on appeal is that the Superior Court abused its discretion by continuing the sentencing hearing, over the objection of Trawick's defense counsel, from November 15, 2002 to December 6, 2002. The grant or denial of a motion for a continuance is reviewed on appeal for abuse of discretion. [2] Accordingly, this Court will only reverse a trial judge's decision to grant a continuance if the ruling is based on clearly unreasonable or capricious grounds. [3] The record reflects that at the November 15 hearing, the State sought to introduce documentary evidence that Trawick had been convicted in Maryland of Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin in 1987, a felony. The defense challenged the sufficiency of the State's evidence that the 1987 conviction was a felony. Specifically, Trawick's defense counsel argued that the State had produced two conflicting documents to support its position that Trawick had been convicted of a felony. The first document was a Criminal Information from Maryland indicating that Trawick had been charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute, a felony. The second document, a microfilmed docket, suggested that Trawick may have entered a guilty plea to possession of heroin, a misdemeanor. In addition to these two documents, the State represented to the Superior Court that the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City had confirmed that Trawick's conviction in Maryland was for Possession with Intent to Distribute, a felony. After both sides had presented their evidence and arguments, the Superior Court stated: Well, at the end of the day what the Court's interest is in applying any statute, including the habitual offender statute is to get to the truth, not to play evidentiary games, not to decide the matter on less than a complete record, and I'm not going to do that here. The Saunders case suggests that when a motion is filed it is proper for the Court to receive evidence to resolve the issue. What I have here is at best, I don't want to say conflicting evidence but not complete evidence. I have information that clearly charges Mr. Trawick with an eligible felony, and I'm satisfied from having reviewed the statute that he was charged under in Maryland that it comports with our Delaware possession with intent to deliver statute such that that requirement would be met by the State if, in fact, there was a finding of guilt as to that charge. Where I have concerns is that I have been supplied with documents from the State that suggest that the charge is possession of heroin. I have a presentence investigator with whom I have been unable to speak, I have tried to reach, but who upon investigation concluded that the charge was possession of heroin, and then I have an e-mail which I received today which I think all counsel would agree at the end of the day is not the sort of evidence that I should be relying upon to make a decision of the gravity that this decision implicates. So I guess what I'm inclined to do at this point is to take the motion under advisement, allow the State to present further evidence and, if that be by way of a hearing, to schedule that hearing to allow the Court to determine whether or not Mr. Trawick, in fact, is eligible for habitual offender status. As I read the statute, it's a mandatory situation if the State moves under this provision and it has the evidence to establish eligibility that the Court is obliged to grant the motion and to sentence according to the statute. The Superior Court then continued the hearing until December 6, 2002. The hearing that is at issue in this appeal was to determine whether Trawick was an habitual offender. [4] Trawick's sentence under Delaware's habitual offender statute was mandatory. [5] The hearing to determine whether Trawick qualified for habitual offender status under the statute was an integral part of the sentencing process. It is well settled that the Superior Court has the authority to correct an error in sentencing. [6] The State requested, and the Superior Court granted, the continuance for the purpose of clarifying an ambiguous record. In Trawick's case, rather than risk an error in sentencing, the trial judge continued the matter in order to ensure the correct result. The record reflects that the Superior Court's decision to continue Trawick's sentencing hearing was a reasonable and proper exercise of discretion.