SC20371 - State v. Brandon (“The defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-55a (a). The defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress the statements he made during two separately recorded interrogations of him by police officers. As to the first interrogation, which occurred on February 16, 2016, sometime between 11 a.m. and noon, at the Bridgeport Office of Adult Probation, the defendant contends that, because the police failed to advise him of his rights pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 478–79, 86 S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 (1966), the interrogation violated his rights under the fifth and fourteenth amendments to the United States constitution. As to the second interrogation, which occurred later on the same day, at approximately 6 p.m., at the Bridgeport Police Department, the defendant claims that, notwithstanding the fact that the officers had issued Miranda warnings at the outset of that interrogation, it was tainted by the alleged illegality of the first interrogation. We disagree. After review, we have determined that the first interrogation was not custodial, and, therefore, that Miranda warnings were not required. Consequently, the failure to provide them did not violate the defendant’s rights and did not taint the second interrogation. Accordingly, we conclude that the trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress the statements he made during the two interrogations and, therefore, affirm the judgment of the trial court.”)

• Concurrence
• Dissent

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC45238 - Murphy v. Clinton (Municipal defective highway statute (§ 13a-149); subject matter jurisdiction; "The plaintiff, Catherine Murphy, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting the motion to dismiss filed by the defendant, the town of Clinton, for lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiff's complaint on the basis that she failed to comply with the requirements of the notice provision of the municipal defective highway statute, General Statutes § 13a-149. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the court improperly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the written notice and the accompanying photographs that she sent to the defendant sufficiently described the cause of her injury in compliance with the requirements of § 13a-149. We agree and, accordingly, reverse the judgment of the trial court")

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions,
• Tort Law

The Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research has recently published the following new reports on their website:

Department of Children and Families Reunification Process - 2022-R-0057 - Addresses the Department of Children and Families’ (DCF) process to reunify a child in foster care with his or her parents.

Judgment of Loss Mitigation - 2022-R-0282 - Describes judgment of loss mitigation and the types of relief it provides. This report updates and expands upon OLR Report 2016-R-0334.

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

SC20679 - Grant v. Commissioner of Correction (Sixth amendment right to autonomy; Ineffective assistance of counsel; Whether petitioner's right to autonomy was violated by defense counsel's concession of guilt as to lesser included offense; Whether defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance by conceding guilt as to lesser included offense; "The petitioner, David Grant, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus, in which he sought to vacate his conviction of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-55 (a) (1) and 53a-55a (a), assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (5), and criminal possession of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-217. The petitioner claims that the habeas court incorrectly determined that (1) McCoy v. Louisiana, ___ U.S. ___, 138 S. Ct. 1500, 200 L. Ed. 2d 821 (2018), which recognized a criminal defendant's right under the sixth amendment to the United States constitution to autonomy in deciding the fundamental objectives of his defense, was not implicated under the facts of this case, and (2) his trial counsel, Sebastian DeSantis, did not render ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984), when he conceded, during closing argument, that the petitioner was guilty of manslaughter. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court.")

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions

The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXXIV, No. 25, for December 27, 2022 is now available.

Contained in the issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 345: Orders (Pages 970 - 970)
• Volume 345: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 217: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 119 - 182)
• Volume 217: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices
• Notices of Connecticut State Agencies
• Notice Publishing Deadlines

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

AC45323 - L. D. v. Commissioner of Children and Families ("The plaintiff father, L. D., who is self-represented in this court, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his appeal from the decision of a hearing officer of the Department of Children and Families (department), who upheld the department’s decision to substantiate allegations of emotional neglect by the plaintiff against three of his children. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly concluded that there was substantial evidence in the record to support the findings of emotional neglect. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Administrative Appeal Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC44844 - Britto v. Bimbo Foods, Inc. (“The plaintiff, John J. Britto, appeals from the decision of the Compensation Review Board (board) affirming the decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner for the Fourth District (commissioner) denying the plaintiff’s motion to preclude the named defendant, Bimbo Foods, Inc., from contesting liability as to his claimed bilateral knee injury stemming from repetitive trauma. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the board improperly affirmed the commissioner’s denial of his motion to preclude, which was predicated on the commissioner’s determination that the defendant did not receive the notice of claim that the plaintiff sent to it by certified mail. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the decision of the board.”)

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions,
• Workers' Compensation Law

AC45323 - L. D. v. Commissioner of Correction (Department of Children and Families; allegations of emotional neglect; “On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly concluded that there was substantial evidence in the record to support the findings of emotional neglect. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.”)

AC44881 - Smorodska v. Commissioner of Correction (“On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly concluded that her trial counsel did not render ineffective assistance in advising her about the immigration consequences of her pleading guilty pursuant to the Alford doctrine. We affirm the judgment of the habeas court.”)

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions

The Connecticut General Assembly Office of Legislative Research has recently released the following new reports:

Cannabis Advertising - 2022-R-0246 - Summarizes the laws on cannabis advertising

Drugged Driving and Compelled Testing - 2022-R-0272 - Describes the circumstances under which law enforcement can compel a driver suspected of driving under the influence of drugs to submit to testing

Refugee Assistance - 2022-R-0274 - Summarizes the programs and public assistance that Afghan refugees are eligible to receive in Connecticut

Issue Brief: Teacher Shortage - 2022-R-0273 - Addresses the following questions: Does Connecticut have a public school teacher shortage?; is it a national problem?; what is the state doing about the situation?; and does Connecticut have teacher licensing reciprocity with other states?

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

The 2022 edition of the research guide on Transfer of Action has been added to our research guides webpage.

• Posted in:
• FYI,
• Legal Research,
• Self-Help

SC20592 - Bank of New York Mellon v. Tope ("The named defendant, Achyut M. Tope, appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court, which affirmed the trial court's denial of his motion to open and vacate the judgment of foreclosure by sale rendered by the trial court in favor of the plaintiff, The Bank of New York Mellon. In this certified appeal, the defendant claims that the Appellate Court incorrectly concluded that his motion to open and vacate the judgment of foreclosure by sale constituted a collateral attack on an earlier judgment. The defendant further claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to open, which alleged that the plaintiff did not have standing to bring the foreclosure action.

We agree with the defendant that the Appellate Court incorrectly concluded that his motion to open constituted a collateral attack on an earlier judgment. We also reject the alternative ground that the trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to open, in which he claimed that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court and remand the case to that court with direction to remand to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

The Connecticut Law Journal, Volume LXXXIV, No. 24, for December 20, 2022 is now available.

Contained in the issue is the following:

• Table of Contents
• Volume 216 Conn. App. Replacement Pages 195 - 196
• Volume 345: Orders (Pages 967 - 970)
• Volume 345: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Reports
• Volume 217: Connecticut Appellate Reports (Pages 1 - 118)
• Volume 217: Cumulative Table of Cases Connecticut Appellate Reports
• Miscellaneous Notices
• Notice Publishing Deadlines

• Posted in:
• Connecticut Law Journal,
• Recent Opinions

SC20453 - State v. James A. (“On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court abused its discretion when it (1) joined for trial his sexual assault, risk of injury to a child, and strangulation charges with his threatening and disorderly conduct charges, and (2) denied his request, as a remedy for the disclosure of his prior incarceration by one of the state’s witnesses, that he be allowed to testify about the nonsexual nature of his prior felony convictions without opening the door to being asked on cross-examination about the nature of those convictions. We reject the defendant’s claims and, accordingly, affirm the judgments of the trial court.”)

• Concurrence

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

The 2022 edition of our research guide on Oral Argument in Civil Matters has been posted to our research guides webpage.