Justia Connecticut Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of three counts of first degree sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a child, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below.Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the prosecutor did not engage in prosecutorial impropriety in her questioning of the victim; (2) the prosecutor did not engage in prosecutorial impropriety during closing and rebuttal arguments; and (3) the trial court did not violate Conn. Gen. Stat. 54-84(b) or infringe on Defendant's constitutional right to remain silent when it denied his request to instruct the jury that he elected not to testify and instead referred to his failure to testify. View "State v. Michael T." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the appellate court reversing decision the judgment of trial court and directing summary judgment for the Town of Ledyard, holding that the ambit of Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-161a includes a directly related federal action that is determinative of a municipality's authority to pursue the underlying state collection proceeding.The Town brought a complaint to collect unpaid taxes for gaming equipment leased by WMS Gaming, Inc. to the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, for its gaming operations. The Tribal Nation responded by filing a second action in the federal court challenging the Town's authority to impose the taxes. The parties eventually executed a stipulation and motions for summary judgment as to liability only with respect to the federal action attorney's fees. The trial court concluded that the Town was liable for the federal action attorney fees pursuant to section 12-161a. The appellate court reversed, construing section 12-161a to conclude that the Town's liability for attorney's fees under the statute was limited to the collection proceeding in state court and did not include the related federal court proceeding. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that WMS Gaming was entitled to reasonable attorney's fees within the meaning of section 12-161a. View "Ledyard v. WMS Gaming, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming the judgment of the superior court dismissing as untimely Plaintiff's application to vacate an arbitration award, holding that the thirty-day limitation period set forth in Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-420(b) applied to Plaintiff's application to vacate.The trial court concluded that Plaintiff's application to vacate an arbitration award rendered in favor of Defendants was untimely under section 52-420(b) because the application was filed more than thirty days after Plaintiff received notice of the arbitration award. The appellate court affirmed. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that the appellate court erred in concluding that its application to vacate the arbitration award was governed by section 52-420(b), in contravention of a private agreement between the parties. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court properly held that section 52-420(b) applied to Plaintiff's application to vacate. View "A Better Way Wholesale Autos, Inc. v. Saint Paul" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming the trial court's denial of Defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that the trial court properly denied the motion.Defendant was convicted of murder and sentenced to fifty years of incarceration. In his motion to correct an illegal sentence, Defendant argued that the sentencing court substantially relied on materially inaccurate information concerning both his criminal history and the particular manner in which he committed the criminal offense. The trial court denied the motion, and the appellate court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the appellate court correctly concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence. View "State v. Francis" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of six counts of capital felony, among other crimes, holding that Connecticut's individual voir dire process protected Defendant's right to a fair trial by assessing and mitigating the prejudicial effects of pretrial publicity about this notorious case.The State charged Defendant with six counts of capital felony, three counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping, and other crimes. Following extensive pretrial motions practice, Defendant's case was tried to a jury, which returned a guilty verdict on all counts. The trial court subsequently sentenced Defendant to six consecutive death sentences. On appeal, Defendant claimed, among other allegations of error, that the trial court improperly denied his motion to change the venue of his trial given the effects of prejudicial pretrial publicity. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the pretrial publicity did not result in actual jury prejudice that deprived Defendant of a fair trial; and (2) Defendant was not entitled to relief on his remaining allegations of error. View "State v. Komisarjevsky" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court remanded this case to the trial court for further proceedings, holding that the trial court erred by failing to inquire into defense counsel's alleged conflict of interest.Defendant was convicted of one count of murder and sentenced to fifty years of imprisonment. On appeal, Defendant argued that his federal constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel was violated during trial when the court denied his motions to dismiss his counsel without adequately inquiring into certain bases for his motions and when the court failed to conduct any inquiry into defense counsel's alleged conflict of interest. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court inadequately inquired into the bases for Defendant's motions to dismiss defense counsel. View "State v. Davis" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court held that Conn. Gen. Stat. 28-9 provided authority for Governor Ned Lamont to issue executive orders during the civil preparedness emergency he declared pursuant to the statute in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the statute passes constitutional muster.In response to the pandemic, Governor Lamont issued certain executive orders that limited various commercial activities at the State's bars and restaurants. At issue in this case was whether the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a "serious disaster" pursuant to section 28-9 and whether that statute conferred authority on the governor to issue the challenged executive orders. The Supreme Court held (1) Governor Lamont did not exceed his statutory authority when he issued the challenged orders; and (2) section 28-9 is not an unconstitutional delegation of the General Assembly's legislative powers to the governor. View "Casey v. Lamont" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming Defendant's conviction of murder as either a principal or as an accessory, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on any of his allegations of error.On appeal, Defendant argued that the appellate court abused its discretion by denying him permission to file a supplemental brief to raise a new claim pursuant to Carpenter v. United States, __ U.S. __ (2018) and incorrectly determined that his hearsay claim regarding the testimony of a key state witness was unpreserved. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the appellate court should have granted Defendant's motion to file a supplemental brief, but any error was harmless; and (2) the trial court properly admitted the challenged testimony as nonhearsay and, alternatively, any error was harmless. View "State v. Armadore" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the sentence imposed upon Defendant in connection with his conviction of four counts of sexual assault in the first degree and three counts of risk of injury to a child, holding that the trial court improperly sentenced Defendant to a period of probation on each count of sexual assault, in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. 53a-29(a).After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of sexually abusing his daughter. The trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty-five years of imprisonment, execution suspended after twenty years, and ten years of probation on each count of sexual assault and ten years of imprisonment on each count of risk of injury to a child. The sentences were imposed concurrently. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions but reversed the sentence, holding (1) the trial court improperly imposed a period of probation on each of Defendant's four sexual assault convictions; and (2) Defendant's challenges to his conviction failed. View "State v. Jose R." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to set aside the jury's verdict in this breach of contract action on the grounds that the terms of the underlying contract precluded such relief, holding that there was no error.Plaintiff, a general contractor, entered into a contract with Defendant, a subcontractor, to provide services related to the installation of drywall and trim. Plaintiff later filed this action alleging that Defendant breached the contract by abandoning performance. The jury found Defendant liable and awarded Plaintiff $45,374. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court committed reversible error by declining to set aside the jury's award. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that the jury could not have reasonably reached the verdict that it did. View "Viking Construction, Inc. v. TMP Construction Group, LLC" on Justia Law