2016 Delaware Code
Title 11 - Crimes and Criminal Procedure
CHAPTER 42. CLASSIFICATION OF OFFENSES; SENTENCES
§ 4204A. Confinement of youth convicted in Superior Court.

(a) When a child who has reached that child's sixteenth birthday is sentenced in Superior Court such sentence shall be served with the Department of Correction.

(b) When a child who has not reached that child's sixteenth birthday is sentenced in Superior Court to a period of incarceration, such sentence shall initially be served in a juvenile facility upon imposition of the sentence and such child shall remain in the custody of or be transferred forthwith to the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services until the child's sixteenth birthday, at which time such child shall be transferred forthwith to the Department of Correction to serve the remaining portion of said sentence.

(c) When a child (youth) has been lawfully sentenced in Superior Court or has been lawfully transferred to the Department of Correction (DOC), DOC shall be exclusively responsible for all aspects of the child's (youth's) care, custody and control, including services associated with those responsibilities. The Department of Correction, and not the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families shall have authority or jurisdiction of such child (youth).

(d)(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, any offender sentenced to an aggregate term of incarceration in excess of 20 years for any offense or offenses other than murder first degree that were committed prior to the offender's eighteenth birthday shall be eligible to petition the Superior Court for sentence modification after the offender has served 20 years of the originally imposed Level V sentence.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this title to the contrary, any offender sentenced to a term of incarceration for murder first degree when said offense was committed prior to the offender's eighteenth birthday shall be eligible to petition the Superior Court for sentence modification after the offender has served 30 years of the originally imposed Level V sentence.

(3) Notwithstanding any provision of this subsection or title to the contrary, any offender who has petitioned the Superior Court for sentence modification pursuant to this subsection shall not be eligible to submit a second or subsequent petition until at least 5 years have elapsed since the date on which the Court ruled upon the offender's most recent petition. Further, the Superior Court shall have the discretion at the time of each sentence modification hearing to prohibit a subsequent sentence modification petition for a period of time in excess of 5 years if the Superior Court finds there to be no reasonable likelihood that the interests of justice will require another hearing within 5 years.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 4205 or § 4217 of this title, any court rule or any other provision of law to the contrary, a Superior Court Judge upon consideration of a petition filed pursuant to this subsection (d), may modify, reduce or suspend such petitioner's sentence, including any minimum or mandatory sentence, or a portion thereof, in the discretion of the Court. Nothing in this section, however, shall require the Court to grant such a petitioner a sentence modification pursuant to this section.

(5) The Superior Court shall have the authority to promulgate appropriate rules to regulate the filing and litigation of sentence modification petitions pursuant to this paragraph.

69 Del. Laws, c. 353, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 70 Del. Laws, c. 597, § 2; 71 Del. Laws, c. 5, §§ 2-4; 72 Del. Laws, c. 149, § 2; 79 Del. Laws, c. 37, § 4.;