State v. Gaymon

889 A.2d 880, 93 Conn. App. 569, 2006 Conn. App. LEXIS 53
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedFebruary 7, 2006
DocketAC 25708
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 889 A.2d 880 (State v. Gaymon) 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. Gaymon, 889 A.2d 880, 93 Conn. App. 569, 2006 Conn. App. LEXIS 53 (Colo. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

Opinion

HARPER, J.

The defendant, Gregory Gaymon, appeals from the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation. The defendant claims that (1) the court improperly interpreted a special condition of his probation, (2) he did not have fair notice of the conduct proscribed by a special condition of his probation, and (3) the evidence did not support the court’s finding that [571]*571he violated a special condition of his probation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

In May, 1998, following a guilty plea, the defendant was convicted of assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (1) for stabbing the victim, who he subsequently married. The court sentenced the defendant to a fifteen year term of imprisonment, suspended after five years served, and five years of probation. One of the special conditions of the defendant’s probation was “no violence toward victim.”

On March 11, 2004, the defendant was arrested and charged with violating that special condition. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the court deemed credible a statement that Linda Gaymon, the victim and the defendant’s wife, made to the defendant’s probation officer on March 8, 2004. The statement read: “I have asked [the defendant] several times to leave my apartment. I don’t need or want him there. He said he’s not going to leave [and] that I will have to call the police to get him out. He said if I don’t stop telling him to leave I am going to make him do something to me. I feel that this is a threat that he will hit or harm me in some way. I am afraid for my safety.”

In concluding that the defendant violated the special condition of “no violence toward victim,” the court relied on the definition of “family violence” set forth in General Statutes § 46b-38a (1). The court found that the defendant’s threat, when viewed in light of the defendant’s prior conviction for stabbing Linda Gay-mon, constituted an act of threatened violence that created an imminent fear of harm, injury or assault. The court noted that the defendant “ha[d] not stopped his victimization of Mrs. Gaymon” and that she had reason to expect violence from the defendant and to fear for her safety. The court thereafter found that the beneficial purposes of the defendant’s probation were [572]*572no longer being served and revoked the defendant’s probation, sentencing the defendant to a ten year term of imprisonment, suspended after five years served, and three years of probation. This appeal followed.

I

The defendant first claims that the court improperly interpreted the special condition of his probation that stated “no violence toward victim” by interpreting “violence” in accordance with the definition of “family violence” set forth in § 46b-38a (1). The defendant claims that violence requires the use of physical force to cause injury, and that its definition is, therefore, much more narrow than the definition of “family violence” codified in § 46b-38a (1). We disagree.

The interpretation of a condition of probation “presents a question of law, over which our review is de novo.” State v. Faraday, 268 Conn. 174, 191, 842 A.2d 567 (2004).

The defendant argues that we should afford the word “violence” its usual and ordinary meaning. We agree.1 As the defendant suggests, violence does encompass the exertion of “rough or injurious physical force, action or treatment.” Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (2d Ed. 2001). Violence, however, likewise is defined as “a violent act or proceeding” or “rough or immoderate vehemence, as of feeling or language . . . .” Id. Violence is also defined as “[a]n act or instance of violent action or behavior” and “[v]ehe-mence of feeling or expression.” American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1981). Violent is defined as the display of “undue mental or emotional force.” Id.

[573]*573We are persuaded that the ordinary meaning of violence is not limited to the use of injurious physical force, as the defendant suggests, but encompasses the use of vehement or forceful language or expression, especially the utterance of threats to cause physical injury when there is a likelihood that physical violence will occur. General Statutes § 46b-38a (1) provides: “ ‘Family violence’ means an incident resulting in physical harm, bodily injury or assault, or an act of threatened violence that constitutes fear of imminent physical abuse, bodily injury or assault between family members or household members. Verbal abuse or argument shall not constitute family violence unless there is present danger and the likelihood that physical violence will occur.” The court’s reliance on that statutory provision was appropriate because it describes certain types of violence, including the use of vehement or forceful language, such as that which threatens physical injury.

The definition of “family violence” in § 46b-38a (1) is not materially inconsistent with the customary meaning of violence in that “family violence” is a type of violence. Further, we deem the court’s reliance on § 46b-38a (1) to be reasonable under the facts of this case. The special condition of probation at issue was imposed following the defendant’s conviction for stabbing the victim, who was his wife at the time of the present proceeding. It was not unreasonable for the court to seek guidance from a legislative enactment concerning violence between family members in determining whether the defendant committed an act of violence against his wife.

II

The defendant next claims that he did not have fair notice that his behavior would constitute violence toward the victim. We disagree.

[574]*574The defendant does not dispute that he had actual notice of the special conditions of his probation. He argues that he lacked notice that the court would rely on the definition of “family violence” in § 46b-38a (1) in interpreting the special condition of “no violence toward victim.” The issue of whether a condition of probation affords a probationer fair notice of proscribed conduct is an issue of law that we review de novo. State v. Faraday, supra, 268 Conn. 191.

“Due process requires, at a minimum, that an individual receive notice of probation conditions and an opportunity to be heard. . . . The purpose of notice of conditions is to ensure that the probationer understands the precise terms of his obligations and that he risks termination of his probation if he fails to meet those obligations.

“Written conditions of probation formally imposed by a court order usually provide notice sufficient to satisfy due process. Therefore, where there is an alleged violation of an explicit condition, it would be difficult for a defendant to claim successfully that he was denied due process on the ground of no fair notice. Obviously, a finding of actual notice impliedly includes a finding of fair notice.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Boseman, 87 Conn. App. 9, 17, 863 A.2d 704 (2004), cert. denied, 272 Conn. 923, 867 A.2d 838 (2005).

As we concluded in part I, the court’s reliance on § 46b-38a (1) was not improper because family violence is a type of violence.

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Related

State v. Dennis
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2026
State v. Gaymon
899 A.2d 715 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2006)
State v. Gaymon
895 A.2d 799 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2006)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
889 A.2d 880, 93 Conn. App. 569, 2006 Conn. App. LEXIS 53, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gaymon-connappct-2006.