Opinion ID: 1943812
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Suspended Sentence is Appealable

Text: In Delaware, the benchmark of a final judgment in a criminal case is the pronouncement of sentence. [14] The United States Supreme Court recognized long ago that an order imposing sentence upon a defendant is a final, appealable order even if execution of the sentence is suspended for probation. [15] Thus, in Delaware a defendant's time limit to file a direct appeal from a conviction and sentence begins to run on the date following the pronouncement of sentence, regardless of whether execution of the sentence is suspended for probation. [16] If a level V sentence in excess of one month, which is suspended entirely for probation, is found to be unappealable because it fails to meet the jurisdictional threshold, then a defendant effectively has forever lost the right to appeal from an underlying conviction and sentence. Even if the defendant later is found in violation of probation (VOP) and ultimately is sentenced as a result of that VOP to serve actual incarceration well in excess of the constitutional threshold, the defendant will never have the opportunity to challenge directly the criminal conviction that forms the underlying basis of the jail sentence. [17] Such a result is fundamentally unfair in light of the lengthy prison sentences that may result from a VOP proceeding with its procedural informalities. [18] A probationer has no absolute right to counsel at a VOP hearing or on appeal following a VOP adjudication. [19] Furthermore, the trial court has broad authority to find a probation violation applying a preponderance of the evidence standard, in contrast to the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt required for the initial conviction. If the trial court finds the defendant has violated probation, it may terminate the defendant's probation and reimpose a prison term at any time. [20] Finally, upon finding a violation of probation, the Court may impose all or any portion of the sentence originally suspended. [21] Balancing the informal and summary nature of VOP proceedings against the potentially harsh prison sentences that may result, we conclude that the better policy is to afford a defendant the right to appeal a level V sentence upon its imposition, without regard to whether execution of the sentence is suspended for probation. Such a result is consistent with the policy that encourages construing statutes in favor of recognizing a right to appeal. [22] Since appeals from the Superior Court to this Court in criminal cases are subject to a parallel constitutional threshold under article IV, § 11(1)(b) of the Delaware Constitution, our holding directed to the present appeal from the Court of Common Pleas to the Superior Court has equal application to appeals from the Superior Court to this Court.