Justia Connecticut Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court dismissing Petitioner's appeal from the judgment of the habeas court denying Petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that Petitioner could not prevail on his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel.Petitioner was convicted of robbery in the first degree. Later, Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, asserting that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel during plea negotiations prior to his trial. The appellate court dismissed the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Petitioner failed to meet his burden of proving that his attorney did not adequately advise him of his maximum sentencing exposure if convicted of the lesser included offense of robbery in the third degree. View "Moore v. Commissioner of Correction" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming the decision of the trial court dismissing Plaintiff's declaratory judgment action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that the appellate court properly upheld the trial court's dismissal of the action as not ripe.Plaintiff, who was convicted of murder, has been incarcerated since 1990. Plaintiff brought this action seeking a judgment declaring that Conn. Gen. Stat. 54-125g was applicable to him and that the commissioner must factor his eligibility for early release in his time sheet. The trial court concluded that the issue raised by Plaintiff was not ripe. The appellate court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Plaintiff's claims were nonjusticiable and that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction on this alternative ground. View "Francis v. Board of Pardons & Paroles" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court reversing the judgment of the trial court and concluding that Plaintiffs, the city of Meriden and the Meriden City Council, did not violate the open meeting requirements of the Freedom of Information Act, Conn. Gen. Stat. 1-200 et seq., holding that there was no error.At issue on appeal was whether the appellate court correctly determined that the phrase a "hearing or other proceeding of a public agency" contained in section 1-200(2) refers to a process of adjudication that fell outside the scope of the activities conducting during the gathering at issue. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the subject gathering did not constitute a "hearing or other proceeding of a public agency" and therefore a "meeting"; and (2) consequently, the gathering was not subject to the Act's open meeting requirements. View "Meriden v. Freedom of Information Commission" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming Defendant's conviction of strangulation in the second degree and assault in the third degree, holding that there was no error in the trial court's evidentiary rulings and that there was no reason to mandate Defendant's requested jury instruction.Defendant was convicted of strangulation in the second degree and assault in the third degree. The appellate court affirmed the convictions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the appellate court did not err in upholding the trial court's decision to admit into evidence a written statement that Defendant made during a custodial interrogation; and (2) this Court declines Defendant's request to exercise its supervisory authority to require trial court, in cases in which the police fail to record an interrogation in violation of Conn. Gen. Stat. 54-lo(h), to instruct the jury that the police violated the law. View "State v. Christopher S." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court in favor of Plaintiffs on all counts in this commercial dispute, holding that the trial court failed properly to instruct the jury regarding the legal effects of the parties' contract in this case and the proper means of calculating damages.Plaintiffs brought this action alleging promissory estoppel, negligent misrepresentation, tortious interference with business expectancies, and violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), Con. Gen. Stat. 42-110a et seq., and seeking damages, injunctive relief, and attorney fees and costs. The jury returned a verdict for Plaintiffs on all counts. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find Defendants liable; but (2) the trial court abused its discretion in issuing the injunction at issue, and the injunction was unenforceable. View "Kent Literary Club of Wesleyan University v. Wesleyan University" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court granting the application of Defendant, AFSCME, Council 4, Local 344 (Union), to confirm an arbitration award reinstating Nichole Jefferson to her employment as executive director of the City of New Haven's Commission on Equal Opportunities, holding that the trial court did not err in determining that the award did not violate public policy.The Union filed a grievance, claiming that the City did not have just cause to terminate Jefferson. The arbitration panel reinstated Jefferson to her employment. Thereafter, the trial court issued an order granting the Union's application to confirm the award and denying the City's corresponding application to vacate, concluding that Jefferson's reinstatement did not violate public policy. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the City failed to meet its burden of demonstrating that Jefferson's reinstatement violated public policy. View "New Haven v. AFSCME, Council 4, Local 3144" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Appellate Court dismissing Petitioner's appeal from the trial court's denial of his request for leave to file a late petition for certification to appeal from the court's judgment denying his petition for a new trial, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that certification to appeal should be denied.The trial court denied Petitioner's petition on the ground that Petitioner's claims were "meritless and too late." Petitioner appealed, claiming that the trial court improperly considered the merits of the petition rather than the reasons for the delay or other factors relevant to permitting a late filing. The Appellate Court dismissed Petitioner's appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court (1) abused its discretion by failing to engage in the proper analysis to determine whether to excuse the late petition for certification; and (2) did not abuse its discretion in determining that the petition failed to raise issues warranting certification. View "Mitchell v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the appellate court affirming the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of three counts of sexual assault in the first degree and other crimes, holding that neither the structure nor the content of the prosecutor's closing argument deprived Defendant of his constitutional rights.On appeal, Defendant argued that the prosecutor deprived him of his constitutional rights to present a closing argument and to a fair trial by reserving her analysis of certain evidence for the rebuttal portion of closing argument and by mischaracterizing other evidence during rebuttal. The appellate court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant's claims of prosecutorial impropriety failed. View "State v. Gonzalez" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court, which affirmed the judgment of the habeas court denying Petitioner's amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that Petitioner failed to demonstrate that he was prejudiced by his trial counsel's failure to object to the prosecutor's improper comments during closing argument at Petitioner's criminal trial.Petitioner was convicted of murder. On appeal, the appellate court concluded that at least one of the prosecutor's comments during closing argument violated Petitioner's constitutional right to a fair trial but that Petitioner had not been prejudiced by the improper remarks. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the failure to Petitioner's criminal trial counsel to object to the prosecutor's improper remarks did not undermine the Court's confidence in the verdict. View "Ross v. Commissioner of Correction" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the appellate court affirming Defendant's conviction of sexually assaulting a twelve-year-old girl and sentencing him to a total effective prison term of thirty-three years, holding that there was no error.On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court violated his due process right at sentencing by increasing his sentence because of his unwillingness to apologize to the victims. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the record did not support Defendant's contention. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the prison term imposed on Defendant did not give rise to an inference that the court punished him for refusing to issue an apology to the victims. View "State v. Angel M." on Justia Law