State v. Cayo

66 A.3d 887, 143 Conn. App. 194, 2013 WL 2233996, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 282
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMay 21, 2013
DocketAC 34776
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 66 A.3d 887 (State v. Cayo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Cayo, 66 A.3d 887, 143 Conn. App. 194, 2013 WL 2233996, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 282 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion

BEAR, J.

The defendant, Andre Cayo, appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court entering a nolle prosequi (nolle) brought by the state’s attorney on the infraction of operating a motor vehicle with an obstructed windshield in violation of General Statutes § 14-99f (c) (infraction), denying him a trial de novo, and denying his motion to dismiss the infraction and the nolle. On appeal, the defendant claims that his rights [196]*196pursuant to General Statutes § 54-56b and Practice Book § 39-30 were violated when the magistrate entered a nolle over his objection and that the trial court improperly refused his demand for a trial de novo and denied his motion to dismiss the nolle and the infraction. We agree with the defendant and reverse the judgment of the trial court.

On December 18, 2011, the defendant was issued a “complaint ticket” for the alleged infraction.1 By mail, the defendant pleaded not guilty to the infraction, and the matter was placed on the magistrate docket. On February 10, 2012, the defendant requested that the infraction be dismissed, but the request was denied. On April 30, 2012, at the state’s request, the magistrate entered a nolle on the alleged infraction.2 On May 1, 2012, the defendant filed a written demand for a trial de novo and a written motion objecting to the nolle. The Superior Court clerk’s office then notified the defendant that his demand for a trial de novo was improper because no trial previously had been conducted before the magistrate. On May 7, 2012, the defendant filed a motion objecting to the entry of the nolle and requesting, instead, that the alleged infraction be dismissed by the trial court. The court denied the defendant’s motion. This appeal followed.

I

The state has raised a question regarding this court’s subject matter jurisdiction, which we must address [197]*197before moving on to the merits of the defendant’s claim on appeal. See State v. Richardson, 291 Conn. 426, 429-30, 969 A.2d 166 (2009) (if issue of subject matter jurisdiction raised, it must be resolved). First, the state argues that the decision to enter a nolle is within the sole discretion of the prosecutor and, therefore, is not a “decision of the magistrate,” as that phrase is used in General Statutes § 51-193u (d). Therefore, it argues, there was no jurisdiction for the trial court to entertain the motions of the defendant after the nolle was entered and there is no jurisdiction for us to consider this appeal. Alternatively, the state argues that if the nolle was a “decision of the magistrate,” the demand for a trial de novo rendered the magistrate’s decision “null and void” under § 51-193u, and the case remains pending before the trial court, with no final judgment having been rendered. We are not persuaded by the state’s arguments.

“The meaning of a statute shall, in the first instance, be ascertained from the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered.” General Statutes § l-2z.

Section 51-193u provides: “(a) Cases involving motor vehicle violations, excluding alleged violations of sections 14-215, 14-222, 14-222a, 14-224 and 14-227a and any other motor vehicle violation involving a possible term of imprisonment, or any violation, as defined in section 53a-27, which are scheduled for the entering of a plea may be handled by a magistrate.

“(b) Infractions and violations designated in subsection (a) of this section in which a plea of not guilty has [198]*198been entered may be heard by a magistrate. Magistrates shall not have the authority to conduct jury trials.

“(c) Magistrates shall have the authority to accept pleas of guilty or of not guilty, to accept pleas of nolo contendere and enter findings of guilty thereon, to impose fines, to set bonds, to forfeit bonds, to continue cases to a date certain, to enter nolles brought by the prosecutorial official, to recommend suspension under section 14-1 lib, 14-140 or 15-154, to order notices of intention to suspend motor vehicle licenses and registrations, to order issuance of a mittimus if a defendant has been found able to pay and fails to pay, to remit fines, to impose or waive fees and costs, to hear and decide motions, to dismiss cases and to decide cases that are tried before him.

“(d) A decision of the magistrate, including any penalty imposed, shall become a judgment of the court if no demand for a trial de novo is filed. Such decision of the magistrate shall become null and void if a timely demand for a trial de novo is filed. A demand for a trial de novo shall be filed with the court clerk within five days of the date the decision was rendered by the magistrate and, if filed by the prosecutorial official, it shall include a certification that a copy thereof has been served on the defendant or his attorney, in accordance with the rules of court. No record of the proceedings shall be required to be kept.”

The state first argues that a decision to enter a nolle solely is within the discretion of the prosecutor and, therefore, is not a “decision of the magistrate,” as that phrase is used in § 51-193u (d). It argues, thus, that the nolle is not a decision from which a demand for a trial de novo can be made before the trial court, and both the trial court and this court have no jurisdiction to consider the matter. We are not persuaded.

[199]*199Because we have “jurisdiction to determine whether the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case”; Gemmell v. Lee, 42 Conn. App. 682, 684 n.3, 680 A.2d 346 (1996); we will consider whether the entry of a nolle by the magistrate after it is brought by the state’s attorney is a decision of the magistrate within the context of § 51-193u (d). Pursuant to subsection (c) of § 51-193u, the magistrate has the authority, inter alia, to “enter nolles brought by the prosecutorial official . . . .” We conclude that implicit in having the authority to enter nolles is the authority to not enter or accept nolles. See generally State v. Lloyd, 185 Conn. 199, 201-202, 440 A.2d 867 (1981) (prosecutor no longer has unfettered discretion to enter nolle but now needs approval of court and consent of defendant). Otherwise, there would be no need for the court to be involved when the state wanted the infraction nolled; the prosecutor merely could handle the matter without the involvement of the court. Our conclusion further is supported by § 54-56b and General Statutes § 54-164n, which will be discussed more fully in part II of this opinion. Accordingly, under the plain language of the statute giving the magistrate the authority to enter nol-les, we reject the state’s first argument.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
66 A.3d 887, 143 Conn. App. 194, 2013 WL 2233996, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cayo-connappct-2013.