State v. Greer

213 Conn. App. 757
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJuly 19, 2022
DocketAC43726
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 213 Conn. App. 757 (State v. Greer) 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. Greer, 213 Conn. App. 757 (Colo. Ct. App. 2022).

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. DANIEL GREER (AC 43726) Bright, C. J., and Elgo and DiPentima, Js.

Syllabus

Convicted of four counts of risk of injury to a child, the defendant appealed to this court. The defendant, a rabbi, was a teacher at and served as the dean of a private, Orthodox Jewish high school. The victim, E, attended the school for four years, commencing in 2001. E alleged that, during his sophomore year, when he was fourteen and fifteen years old, he and the defendant met at least once a week to engage in various sexual acts. The defendant continued to engage in sexual acts with E after he turned sixteen years old. In 2016, E reported the sexual abuse to the police. The defendant was arrested and charged with four counts each of sexual assault in the second degree and risk of injury to a child. At trial, the state introduced uncharged misconduct evidence pursuant to a provision (§ 4-5) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence regarding a sexual relationship between the defendant and R, a former student at the school, and the defendant’s relationship with E after his sixteenth birthday. Following R’s testimony, the court provided a limiting instruc- tion to the jury. After the close of evidence at trial, defense counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal as to the charges of sexual assault in the second degree on the ground that the prosecution was barred by the applicable statute ((Rev. to 2001) § 54-193a, as amended by Public Acts 2002, No. 02-138, § 1) of limitations because E had not notified a police officer or state’s attorney within five years of the commission of the offense. The state conceded that the charges were barred, and the trial court granted the motion for a judgment of acquittal. Thereafter, the state filed a new information limited to the four counts of risk of injury to a child. In its final instructions to the jury, the court instructed in relevant part regarding misconduct evidence: ‘‘It is for you to determine whether the defendant committed any uncharged sexual misconduct . . . .’’ The jury found the defendant guilty. The defendant filed postver- dict motions for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial, claiming, inter alia, that the limitation period applicable to the charges of sexual assault in the second degree should also apply to the risk of injury charges because the charges were based on the same conduct. The trial court denied the motions, and the defendant appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion for a judgment of acquittal as to the risk of injury charges: our courts previously have concluded that risk of injury to a child and sexual assault are separate and distinct offenses; moreover, contrary to the defendant’s assertion, the requirement that a victim notify a police officer or state’s attorney of an offense within five years of its commission was limited by the plain and unambiguous language of § 54-193a to charges of sexual assault in the second degree pursuant to statute (§ 53a-71 (a) (1)); furthermore, if the legislature had intended the additional reporting requirement to also apply to charges of risk of injury under the applicable statute (§ 53- 21 (a) (2)), it would have stated so expressly, and, accordingly, for the court to expand the requirement to violations of § 53-21 (a) (2) would be contrary to the presumed intent of the legislature; additionally, applying different statutes of limitations to the two sets of charges would not lead to an absurd or unworkable result, as two criminal statutes can be construed to proscribe the same conduct and a defendant may be prosecuted under either. 2. The trial court properly instructed the jury as to the evidence of uncharged misconduct: the defendant adequately preserved his challenge to the trial court’s instructions regarding the uncharged misconduct evidence involving the defendant’s continued sexual acts with E after E turned sixteen by stating in his request to charge that, ‘‘[a]s to any evidence of uncharged misconduct,’’ the state had the burden to prove such conduct by clear and convincing evidence; moreover, the trial court instructed that it was for the jury ‘‘to determine’’ whether the defendant engaged in the acts of uncharged misconduct and, contrary to the defen- dant’s assertions, there was no meaningful distinction between an instruction that a jury may consider prior misconduct evidence if it ‘‘believes’’ such evidence, which our Supreme Court endorsed in State v. Cutler (293 Conn. 303) and which is used in the Connecticut Criminal Jury Instructions, and the trial court’s use of the word ‘‘determine’’; accordingly, the trial court’s instructions regarding the uncharged mis- conduct were not deficient. Argued February 28—officially released July 19, 2022

Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with four counts each of the crimes of sexual assault in the second degree and risk of injury to a child, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of New Haven, geographical area number twenty-three, and tried to the jury before Alander, J.; thereafter, the court, Alander, J., granted the defendant’s motion for a judg- ment of acquittal as to the four counts of sexual assault in the second degree; verdict of guilty of four counts of risk of injury to a child; subsequently, the court, Alander, J., denied the defendant’s postverdict motions for a judgment of acquittal and a new trial and rendered judgment in accordance with the verdict, from which the defendant appealed to this court. Affirmed. Richard Emanuel, with whom was David T. Grud- berg, for the appellant (defendant). Timothy F. Costello, senior assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Patrick J. Griffin, former state’s attorney, and Maxine Wilensky and Karen A. Roberg, senior assistant state’s attorneys, for the appel- lee (state). Opinion

BRIGHT, C. J. The defendant, Daniel Greer, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of four counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (2). On appeal, the defen- dant claims that the court improperly (1) concluded that the statute of limitations applicable to sexual assault in the second degree under General Statutes (Rev. to 2001) § 54-193a, as amended by Public Acts 2002, No. 02-138, § 1 (effective May 23, 2002) (P.A. 02-138),1 did not apply to the risk of injury charges and (2) declined to instruct the jury to apply a standard of proof to determine whether certain prior misconduct occurred. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.

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Related

State v. William G.
232 Conn. App. 317 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2025)
State v. Lee
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2024
Greer v. State
224 Conn. App. 1 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2024)

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Bluebook (online)
213 Conn. App. 757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-greer-connappct-2022.