Opinion ID: 1472650
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Only Judges Conduct Trials

Text: The State acknowledges that there is no Delaware statute, rule, or administrative directive that specifically conferred authority upon the Superior Court Commissioner to conduct Johnson's violation of probation hearing. [26] Nonetheless, the State asserts that the Commissioner's power to sentence under section 512(a)(4) following the entry of a guilty plea also must necessarily include the power to enforce the sentence and punish any violations of the Commissioner's sentencing order. Accordingly, the State argues that, because Johnson gave his consent [27] to allow the Commissioner to sentence him on the original drug possession charge, the Commissioner also had authority to adjudicate and sentence Johnson on the violation charge pursuant to section 512(a)(4). The State's argument fails to recognize two important legal concepts. First, a violation of probation hearing is a separate and distinct adjudicatory proceeding in the nature of a trial. [28] Second, the finding of a violation can lead to the imposition of a new sentence that would require a separate consent before it could be imposed by a Superior Court Commissioner. [29] Although patterned on the Federal Magistrates Act, section 512 differs in at least one significant respect from its federal counterpart. Section 512 does not confer upon Superior Court Commissioners any authority to conduct trials. [30] A violation of probation hearing may be informal or summary in nature. [31] Nevertheless, it is still an adjudicatory proceeding in the nature of a trial that must comport with the protections of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. [32] Delaware Superior Court Criminal Rule 32.1 sets forth the due process protections afforded to Delaware probationers. Rule 32.1 specifically provides that a probationer charged with a violation of probation shall be afforded a prompt hearing before a judge of Superior Court on the charge of violation. [33] Accordingly, we hold that Superior Court Commissioners are without authority to conduct violation of probation hearings.