State v. Coleman

204 Conn. App. 860
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMay 25, 2021
DocketAC42911
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 204 Conn. App. 860 (State v. Coleman) 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. Coleman, 204 Conn. App. 860 (Colo. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

*********************************************** The “officially released” date that appears near the be- ginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be pub- lished in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the be- ginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the “officially released” date appearing in the opinion.

All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the advance release version of an opinion and the latest version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest version is to be considered authoritative.

The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publica- tions, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. *********************************************** STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. CHRISTOPHER COLEMAN (AC 42911) Alvord, Prescott and Moll, Js.

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been convicted, on a plea of guilty, of the crimes of promoting a minor in an obscene performance, risk of injury to a child, sexual assault in the second degree, possession of child pornogra- phy, and cruelty to persons, appealed to this court, challenging the sentence imposed by the trial court following the court’s granting of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. The defendant originally received a total effective sentence of nine years of imprisonment, which would run consecutively to a sentence he was then serving, followed by twenty- five years of special parole. He claimed that his sentence on the convic- tion of sexual assault in the second degree, one year of imprisonment followed by twenty-five years of special parole, exceeded the statutory (§ 53a-35a) maximum twenty year term of imprisonment applicable to that offense. The court resentenced the defendant by restructuring his sentence to consist of the same total effective sentence of nine years of imprisonment followed by twenty-five years of special parole that he had agreed to in his plea bargain. On appeal, the defendant claimed that his newly imposed sentence violated the multiple punishment prohibi- tion of the double jeopardy clause as well as his rights to due process and that the court lacked jurisdiction to resentence him. The state conceded that the portion of the defendant’s new sentence, imposing an eleven year period of special parole on the charge of promoting a minor in an obscene performance, illegally exceeded the statutory (§ 54- 125e (c)) maximum ten year special parole limitation. Held: 1. The defendant’s resentencing did not violate double jeopardy, as his overall sentence had not expired, and the trial court was thus free to restructure the entire sentencing package; the defendant provided no authority for his argument that the legal portion of his sentence should have been bifurcated from the illegal term of special parole, the resen- tence did nothing more than place the defendant in the same position he originally occupied when he entered his guilty plea, and, as the defendant was still serving his original sentence at the time of resentenc- ing, he had not obtained an expectation of finality in his sentence. 2. The defendant could not prevail on his claim that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to resentence him; the defendant invoked the jurisdiction of the court by filing a motion to correct his sentence, and the court restructured his sentence before the total effective sentence had expired. 3. The defendant’s resentencing did not violate his constitutional rights to due process, as he was resentenced to the same total effective sentence and not to a longer term of imprisonment or a longer combined sentence. 4. The trial court’s imposition of an eleven year period of special parole for the charge of promoting a minor in an obscene performance exceeded the ten year maximum limit set forth in § 54-125e (c) and, thus, the defendant was entitled to resentencing. Argued October 21, 2020—officially released May 25, 2021

Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with multiple counts of the crimes of promoting a minor in an obscene performance, risk of injury to a child, sexual assault in the second degree, possession of child por- nography, and sexual assault in the first degree, and one count of the crime of cruelty to persons, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Fairfield, where the defendant was presented to the court, Dami- ani, J., on a plea of guilty of two counts of risk of injury to a child and one count each of promoting a minor in an obscene performance, sexual assault in the second degree, possession of child pornography, and cruelty to persons; judgment of guilty in accordance with the plea; thereafter, the court, Hon. Robert J. Devlin, Jr., judge trial referee granted the defendant’s motion to correct an illegal sentence, and the defendant appealed to this court. Reversed; further proceedings. Judie Marshall, for the appellant (defendant). Linda F. Currie-Zeffiro, senior assistant state’s attor- ney, with whom, on the brief, were Joseph T. Corradino, state’s attorney, and C. Robert Satti, Jr., supervisory assistant state’s attorney, for the appellee (state). Opinion

ALVORD, J. The defendant, Christopher Coleman, appeals from the judgment of the trial court granting his motion to correct an illegal sentence and imposing a new sentence. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) his newly imposed sentence violates the multiple punishment prohibition of the double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment to the United States constitution and the Connecticut constitution1 because he had com- pleted the lawful portion of his sentence at the time of his resentencing, (2) the court lacked jurisdiction to resentence him after the lawful portion of his sentence had been served, and (3) the newly imposed sentence violated his due process rights under the federal and state constitutions. We disagree with the defendant’s claims. The state, in its appellate brief, concedes that the defendant’s new sentence is illegal because the court imposed an eleven year period of special parole on the charge of promoting a minor in an obscene perfor- mance, which exceeds the ten year special parole limita- tion set forth in General Statutes § 54-125e (c). The defendant agrees and, in his reply brief, argues that this court has the authority to correct the defendant’s sentence. We agree with the parties that the defendant’s new sentence is illegal and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for resentencing. The record reflects the following procedural history that is relevant to this appeal. On June 12, 2003, pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine2 to one count of promoting a minor in an obscene performance in violation of General Stat- utes § 53a-196b, two counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2001) § 53-21 (a) (1), one count of sexual assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2001) § 53a-71 (a) (1), one count of possession of child pornography in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2001) § 53a- 196d, and one count of cruelty to persons in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2001) § 53-20. On July 15, 2003, the parties appeared before the trial court, Damiani, J. The court first noted that ‘‘[t]he agreed upon sentence . . .

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Bluebook (online)
204 Conn. App. 860, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coleman-connappct-2021.