State v. Groppi

840 A.2d 42, 81 Conn. App. 310, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 37
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedFebruary 3, 2004
DocketAC 23000
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 840 A.2d 42 (State v. Groppi) 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. Groppi, 840 A.2d 42, 81 Conn. App. 310, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 37 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

Opinion

SCHALLER, J.

The defendant, Jeffrey A. Groppi, appeals from the judgment of conviction rendered by the trial court subsequent to his plea of guilty to the charge of fraud in the sale of securities in violation of General Statutes § 36b A.1 On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily made because the court failed to inform him of one of the direct consequences of his plea and (2) the court improperly failed to make a determination, pursuant to General Statutes § 53a-28 (c), of his ability to pay restitution. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts are relevant to the defendant’s appeal. The defendant was a manager of Empire Investing Group, which dealt in commodity futures and foreign currency trading. From 1998 to 1999, the defendant, along with other employees of Empire Investing Group, personally retained and used the sum of $115,500 that had been given to the firm to be invested.

The defendant was arrested and charged with seven counts of fraud in the sale of securities in violation of General Statutes § 36b-4. The defendant and the state reached a plea agreement under which he would plead guilty to one count of fraud in the sale of securities, [313]*313pay $12,500 in restitution at the time of sentencing and pay $85,000 in restitution over the course of fifty-nine months.2 The agreement was presented to the court. The specific amount of restitution was not discussed at the plea canvass, but was mentioned twice during sentencing. At the sentencing proceeding, the prosecutor stated that “[t]he plea agreement at the time of the plea called for . . . [restitution, $85,000 joint and several, after payment of $12,500 by each accused.”3 The court stated that “[t]he balance of $85,000, which will be joint and severable restitution, will be ordered over the first fifty-nine months of probation at the rate of $1425 a month.” Neither defense counsel nor the defendant took issue with the court’s statements that the defendant would make restitution in the amount of $85,000. This appeal followed.

I

The defendant claims that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily made because the court failed to inform him of one of the direct consequences of his plea. The defendant argues that the restitution of $85,000 imposed pursuant to the plea agreement was a direct consequence of his guilty plea and, as such, the court was required to canvass him regarding restitution. We disagree.

At the outset, we set forth our standard of review. Our cases instruct that we conduct a plenary review of the circumstances surrounding the plea to determine if it was knowing and voluntary. See State v. Irala, 68 Conn. App. 499, 507, 792 A.2d 109 (“[a]t the appellate level, a ‘determination as to whether a plea has been knowingly and voluntarily entered entails an examination of all of the relevant circumstances’ ”), cert. denied, [314]*314260 Conn. 923, 797 A.2d 519, cert. denied, 537 U.S. 887, 123 S. Ct. 132, 154 L. Ed. 2d 148 (2002); see also In re Jason C., 255 Conn. 565, 571-75, 767 A.2d 710 (2001) (conducting full and complete review); State v. Andrews, 253 Conn. 497, 502-14, 752 A.2d 49 (2000) (same); United States v. Good, 25 F.3d 218, 219 (4th Cir. 1994) (de novo review); United States v. Roberts, 5 F.3d 365, 368 (9th Cir. 1993) (same).

A defendant entering a guilty plea waives several fundamental constitutional rights. Boykin v. Alabama, 395 U.S. 238, 243, 89 S. Ct. 1709, 23 L. Ed. 2d 274 (1969). “We therefore require the record affirmatively to disclose that the defendant’s choice was made intelligently and voluntarily.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Andrews, supra, 253 Conn. 503. To satisfy that requirement, a defendant must be fully aware of the direct consequences of his or her plea. See Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 755, 90 S. Ct. 146, 325 L. Ed. 2d 747 (1970). Direct consequences are generally defined as consequences that are “definite, immediate and [that have] largely automatic effect[s] on the range of the defendant’s punishment.” Cuthrell v. Director, 475 F.2d 1364, 1366 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1005, 94 S. Ct. 362, 38 L. Ed. 2d 241 (1973). In Connecticut, “Practice Book § 39-19 defines the scope of the . . . constitutional mandate that a defendant be advised of all direct consequences of his plea . . . .” State v. Andrews, supra, 507. Practice Book § 39-19 provides: “The judicial authority shall not accept the plea without first addressing the defendant personally and determining that he or she fully understands: (1) The nature of the charge to which the plea is offered; (2) The mandatory minimum sentence, if any; (3) The fact that the statute for the particular offense does not permit the sentence to be suspended; (4) The maximum possible sentence on the charge, including, if there are several charges, the maximum sentence possible from [315]*315consecutive sentences and including, when applicable, the fact that a different or additional punishment may be authorized by reason of a previous conviction; and (5) The fact that he or she has the right to plead not guilty or to persist in that plea if it has already been made, and the fact that he or she has the right to be tried by a jury or a judge and that at that trial the defendant has the right to the assistance of counsel, the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses against him or her, and the right not to be compelled to incriminate himself or herself.”

The defendant argues that the restitution component of his sentence was a direct consequence of his guilty plea and, therefore, the court improperly failed to include the restitution in the plea canvass. The threshold issue of his claim is whether restitution is considered a direct consequence. “[0]ur case law clearly and consistently has limited the direct consequences of a guilty plea to those consequences enumerated in Practice Book § 39-19.” State v. Andrews, supra, 253 Conn. 507; see also State v. Gilnite, 202 Conn. 369, 383-84, 521 A.2d 547 (1987). Our Supreme Court also has stated, albeit in obiter dictum, that it does “not hold, as a matter of law, that there can never be direct consequences to a guilty plea, i.e., consequences covered by the [Boykin v. Alabama, supra, 395 U.S. 242] constitutional mandate, beyond those listed in Practice Book § 39-19. Rather, we conclude that neither this court nor the Appellate Court has identified any such consequences to date.” State v. Andrews, supra, 507 n.8.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
840 A.2d 42, 81 Conn. App. 310, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 37, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-groppi-connappct-2004.