Morales v. State
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE MANUEL MORALES, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE OF DELAWARE, Plaintiff Below, Appellee. § § § § § § § § § § § No. 565, 2014 Court Below Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County Cr. No. 1309012678 Submitted: October 10, 2014 Decided: October 20, 2014 Before STRINE, Chief Justice, RIDGELY, and VALIHURA, Justices. ORDER This 20th day of October 2014, it appears to the Court that: (1) On October 2, 2014, the appellant, Manuel Morales, filed a notice of appeal from his conviction on criminal charges in the Superior Court on May 20, 2014. The appellant has not yet been sentenced. The Senior Court Clerk issued a notice to the appellant to show cause why his appeal should not be dismissed for this Court s lack of jurisdiction to consider an appeal in a criminal matter in the Superior Court where the defendant has yet to be sentenced. (2) The appellant filed a response to the notice to show cause on October 10, 2014. In his response, the appellant states that he is scheduled to be sentenced on October 31, 2014. The response addresses the merits of the appellant s appeal, but does not respond to the jurisdictional limitation raised in the notice to show cause. (3) This Court s jurisdiction in criminal cases is limited to the review of final judgments.1 A criminal conviction does not become final until the sentence is imposed.2 The appellant has not yet been sentenced in this case. Accordingly, the appellant s conviction is not final and the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider it. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED, under Supreme Court Rule 29(b), that this appeal is DISMISSED. BY THE COURT: /s/ Karen L. Valihura Justice 1 Del. Const. art. IV, § 11(1)(b). 2 Hunter v. State, 209 A.2d 469, 470 (Del. 1965). 2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
