Opinion ID: 2070030
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Witnesses at Sentencing

Text: Superior Court Criminal Rule 32(a) states that defense counsel, the defendant, the prosecutor and the victim shall have an opportunity to speak at sentencing. Middlebrook, however, wished to also call character witnesses to testify at the sentencing hearing. The request was denied by the trial judge. Middlebrook now challenges that ruling on appeal. The trial judge permitted Middlebrook to allocute and personally plead for leniency during the sentencing hearing. Rule 32(a) provides no right for the defendant to call additional witnesses. Middlebrook fails to establish how the trial court's policy not to hear from character witnesses at sentencing altered the sentencing result. In making the request at issue, defense counsel confirmed that the proffered witnesses would only reiterate what was in written submissions that had already been provided to the trial judge by Middlebrook. Accordingly, Middlebrook has not demonstrated that the trial judge abused his discretion in limiting the testimony at Middlebrook's sentencing only to those people with a right to speak under Rule 32(a).