Case Caption: Davis vs. People of the Virgin Islands Case Number: SCT-CRIM-2022-0115Date: 12/19/2023Author: Hodge, Rhys S. Citation: 2023 VI 16Summary: Although the Superior Court has not entered a final judgment in the underlying criminal case, since the charges remain pending, an order denying a motion for modification of bail, or granting bail modifications pursuant to conditions that the defendant cannot satisfy, qualifies for immediate appeal pursuant to the collateral order doctrine, when it (1) conclusively determines the disputed question, (2) resolves an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action, and (3) is effectively unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. In an order of November 29, 2022, nominally granting, but in effect denying, the defendant’s motion for modification of bail, the Superior Court erred when it relied on the allegations made by the defendant’s former court-appointed attorneys in their motions to withdraw as counsel – considering these materials sua sponte without providing the defendant with a right to be heard. On remand, the defendant must be provided with an opportunity to be heard with respect to the matters raised by the Superior Court sua sponte. The appeal from a separate disposition of a motion to transfer the defendant from a detention facility on St. Thomas to a detention facility in St. Croix is dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction. No independent jurisdictional basis for an appeal from the transfer order exists under 4 V.I.C. § 33(d)(4), and it is not reviewable under collateral order principles because it is not inextricably intertwined with the reviewable bail order, and does not satisfy other requirements for collateral order review.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion