Ferris School

Misdemeanors and probation violations: shoplifting, DUI, disorderly conduct

Lawmakers call the smaller crimes misdemeanors. Once someone is arrested, police bring the person to a JP Court, where a magistrate holds the initial presentment. Think of it as the opening step in court. The charges are explained, and the magistrate sets the rules the person must follow to go home.

Back in 2018, Delaware changed how bail works. Magistrates now look at a risk assessment, a score that guesses how likely someone is to skip court. Cash bail is used much less. Plenty of people charged with misdemeanors walk out the same day without paying anything, though they may have to check in with a pretrial officer or avoid contact with someone. A man who can’t meet the terms waits at Gander Hill, Vaughn or SCI, depending on the county. A woman waits at Baylor.

Most misdemeanor cases are decided in Common Pleas, and anyone charged there can ask for a jury. A handful of small charges finish in JP Court. If the alleged victim is a relative or partner, Family Court usually takes the case. The longest possible punishments are:

• Class A misdemeanor: up to a year locked up and a $2,300 fine
• Class B misdemeanor: up to six months and $1,150
• Unclassified misdemeanor: up to 30 days and $575, unless the specific law sets another limit

Probation violations at the treatment centers: Lots of people at Hazel D. Plant, CCTC and SCCC are there because of a violation of probation, or VOP. Probation lets a person serve a sentence out in the community if they follow rules. Failing a drug test, missing a check-in or breaking curfew are rule breaks. The probation officer can then use an administrative warrant, which is an arrest order that comes from the probation office instead of a judge. The person goes back to the court that gave the original sentence. That means Superior Court for a felony and Common Pleas for a misdemeanor. No jury sits in on it. The State just needs “some competent evidence” of a broken rule, which is much easier to meet than the proof needed at a trial. If the person admits the violation, that settles it. The judge can put them back on probation, move them up to a Level IV stay at a treatment center, or send them to prison for no longer than the suspended time left on the old sentence. At SCCC, the 250-bed Sussex Violation of Probation Center is built for short, strict stays with 5 a.m. wake-ups and community service.

Under 18: Kids’ cases go to Family Court instead of the adult courts. For a first small offense, police may give a teen a Juvenile Civil Citation. That means the teen completes a program in place of being formally charged.

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Felonies: break-ins, selling drugs, car theft, illegal gun possession

A felony is a crime that can bring more than a year in prison. The case still opens with a JP magistrate. Men who aren’t released wait at the prison for their county: Gander Hill for New Castle, Vaughn for Kent and SCI for Sussex. Women from anywhere in Delaware wait at Baylor.

Next, a Common Pleas judge may hold a preliminary hearing. The question is whether there’s probable cause, meaning there’s a fair basis for thinking this person did the crime. Prosecutors can skip that step and go to a grand jury instead. That’s a group of local residents who look at the evidence in private. If they agree, they hand up an indictment, the official charge. After that, the case moves to Superior Court for an arraignment. At the arraignment, the charges are read out and the defendant says “guilty” or “not guilty.”

Delaware sorts felonies into seven classes, from A (worst) to G. Class B carries 2 to 25 years. The top limits for the rest are 15 years for C, 8 for D, 5 for E, 3 for F and 2 for G. Judges can look at the SENTAC guidelines, a chart of suggested sentences, but they aren’t required to follow them. Most felony cases end in a plea deal, where the defendant admits to a charge and gets something easier in return. If there is a trial, 12 jurors hear it. Many sentences step down over time, from prison to a Level IV center like CCTC or SCCC and then to probation.

Under 18: Family Court keeps nearly all teen felony cases. If a judge orders a teen held, the Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services runs two detention centers: the New Castle County Detention Center in Wilmington and Stevenson House in Milford. A judge has to review that detention within 14 business days and again at least every 21 days. A teen found responsible might get probation, counseling or a state youth program such as the Ferris School.

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Violent felonies: murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping

Violent felonies are tried in Superior Court in the county where they happened. A judge may refuse release to someone who seems dangerous. Because of that, many of these people stay locked up for the whole case, men at Gander Hill, Vaughn or SCI and women at Baylor. These cases can drag on for a year or more. The Level IV treatment centers don’t hold people waiting on violent charges.

• Class A felony, such as first-degree rape: at least 15 years, up to life
• Class B felony, which includes most first-degree robbery: 2 to 25 years
• First-degree murder by an adult: a life sentence, and parole is never allowed

Delaware no longer has a death penalty. In Rauf v. State, decided August 2, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled the old law unconstitutional. Then, on September 26, 2024, Governor John Carney signed House Bill 70, which took it out of the law books.

Under Delaware’s Victims’ Bill of Rights, crime victims can be told about court dates and get a turn to talk in court when it’s time to sentence. The Attorney General’s Victim/Witness program answers toll free at (800) 870-1790. The county lines are (302) 577-8500 for New Castle, (302) 257-3293 for Kent and (302) 752-3263 for Sussex. The DOC has its own victim information line at (302) 857-5440.

Under 18: A few very serious charges send a teen’s case to Superior Court right away. For 16- and 17-year-olds, that list includes murder, first- or second-degree rape, first-degree assault and some armed robberies. For murder and the top rape charges, it can start as young as 13. The teen’s lawyer can then ask for a reverse amenability hearing. In plain words, that’s the teen’s chance to show the judge that Family Court can still help and that moving the case back is fair. If the judge says no, adult penalties apply.

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