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[T] Manis v. State8/16/2001
Submitted: August 7, 2001
ORDER
This 16th day of August, 2001, on consideration of the briefs of the parties, it appears to the Court that:
1. Gordon L. Manis pleaded guilty to Manslaughter and Driving Under the Influence and the Superior Court sentenced him on January 7, 2000 to 30 months at Level V, 6 months at Level IV (Work Release) and 1 year at Level IV (Home Confinement). Manis then filed and the Superior Court denied his Motion for Sentence Correction. On this appeal Manis argues that because the Superior Court accepted a plea agreement he entered on June 7, 1999, which specified a sentence of "10 years at Level V suspended after 30 months for probation," the Superior Court erred when it later imposed a sentence exceeding 30 months at Level V. Manis contends that the Superior Court must impose a sentence no greater than that provided in the plea agreement.
2. On March 13, 2001, after briefings and supplemental memoranda, we remanded this case to the Superior Court asking whether it sentenced Manis in excess of the Rule 11(e)(1)(C) plea agreement and if so whether it should not impose a sentence no greater than that provided for in the agreement. The Superior Court issued a Report after Remand on May 21, 2001 explaining that it did not sentence Manis to a punishment greater than that specified in the plea agreement. Because we find that the Superior Court's report on remand accurately and persuasively explains that the Court did sentence Manis within the terms of the plea agreement and its statutory authority, we affirm.
3. The facts in this case are simple but tragic. On December 1, 1998, Manis caused a fatality in a motor vehicle collision at the intersection of Routes 13 and 273. Police arrested Manis at the scene. On January 19, 1999, a Superior Court Grand Jury indicted Manis and charged him with: Murder in the Second Degree; Driving a Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs; Failure to have Required Insurance; and Driving While License is Suspended.
4. On June 7, 1999, Manis entered into a plea agreement pursuant to Superior Court Criminal Rule 11(e)(1)(C). This rule permits the parties to "agree that a specific sentence is the appropriate disposition of the case," subject to approval by the Superior Court. The parties' plea agreement provided that Manis would plead guilty to Manslaughter and Driving Under the Influence and that a nolle prosequi would be entered as to all the remaining charges. The plea agreement further provided for a sentence of "10 years Level V, suspended after 30 months for probation."
5. On October 7, 1999, the parties appeared for a plea in Superior Court. Manis pleaded guilty to manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol. The Superior Court did not impose a sentence at that time; instead, the Superior Court ordered a presentence report.
6. On January 7, 2000, Manis appeared for sentencing before a Superior Court judge different from the one who presided at the October 7, 1999 hearing. According to Manis, the second judge sentenced him to a punishment in excess of what the parties had agreed to in the plea agreement that the Superior Court had accepted during the October 7, 1999 hearing.
During this sentencing hearing, the Superior Court stated: "So the Court will exercise its discretion and defer to the parties' agreement with respect to sentence. That will mean two and a half years in prison." The Superior Court then sentenced Manis to 30 months at Level V to be followed by 6 months at Level IV (Work Release), to be followed by 1 year at Level IV (Home Confinement). The Superior Court also revoked Manis' driving privileges
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