Miles v. State

Summary

The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s denial of Tyrone Miles’s petition for sentence modification under 11 Del. C. § 4214(f). The Court held that Miles’s 2009 habitual-offender sentence was lawful because his prior attempted PWITD convictions qualified as predicate felonies under the version of Section 4214(b) in effect when the conduct occurred, and it found no arguably appealable issue under Supreme Court Rule 26(c).

Holdings

1. The Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Miles's petition because § 4214(f) permits, but does not require, sentence modification for an eligible petitioner.
2. Miles's sentence was not illegal because the legality of the habitual-offender enhancement was determined under the version of the statute in effect when he committed the felony triggering enhanced sentencing, and attempted possession with intent to deliver cocaine was a predicate felony under the statute in effect in 2007.
3. Counsel satisfied Rule 26(c), and withdrawal was appropriate because counsel conscientiously examined the record and law and the appeal was wholly without merit and devoid of any arguably appealable issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Superior Court abused its discretion by denying Miles's petition for sentence modification under 11 Del. C. § 4214(f).
2. Whether Miles's 2009 habitual-offender sentence was illegal because attempted possession with intent to deliver cocaine would not qualify as a predicate felony under the current version of the habitual-offender statute.
3. Whether counsel satisfied the requirements for withdrawal under Delaware Supreme Court Rule 26(c) because the appeal presented no arguably appealable issue.

Disposition

affirmed