Govan v. State
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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE ARTHUR GOVAN, Defendant BelowAppellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff BelowAppellee. § § § § § § § § § § § No. 366, 2002 Court Below Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County Cr.A. Nos. IN92-10-1586 thru -1596 Cr. ID 92010166DI Submitted: August 21, 2002 Decided: August 30, 2002 Before VEASEY, Chief Justice, WALSH, and HOLLAND, Justices. ORDER This 30th day of August 2002, upon consideration of the appellant s opening brief, the State s motion to affirm, and the record below, it appears to the Court that: (1) The defendant-appellant, Arthur Govan, was convicted in June 1993 of multiple counts of first degree murder, weapon charges, and related offenses. The Superior Court sentenced Govan to four life terms of imprisonment without parole plus an additional 115 years imprisonment. His convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal, and all of his subsequent postconviction petitions have been unsuccessful. In May 2002, Govan filed a motion pursuant to Superior Court Criminal Rule 36 seeking to correct the sentences on his weapon convictions to reflect that the sentences were not mandatory. The Superior Court denied Govan s motion. This appeal ensued. (2) After careful consideration, we find the Superior Court s decision to be manifestly correct. Relief under Rule 36 is limited to the correction of clerical errors. The transcript of Govan s sentencing reflects that the Superior Court sentenced Govan on the weapon charges to mandatory terms of incarceration. Accordingly, there is no clerical error in the judgment that can be remedied under Rule 36. The Superior Court thus did not abuse its discretion in denying Govan relief under Rule 36. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED. BY THE COURT: s/Joseph T. Walsh Justice 2
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