State v. Han

201 Conn. App. 568
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedDecember 1, 2020
DocketAC43016
StatusPublished

This text of 201 Conn. App. 568 (State v. Han) 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. Han, 201 Conn. App. 568 (Colo. Ct. App. 2020).

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. MINH ANH HAN (AC 43016) Bright, C. J., and Alvord and Cradle, Js.

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been charged with the crime of sexual assault in the fourth degree and had been granted permission to participate in the statutory (§ 54-56e) pretrial diversionary program of accelerated rehabilitation, appealed to this court after the trial court terminated the order of accelerated rehabilitation. At a hearing on additional conditions proposed for the defendant’s participation in the accelerated rehabilita- tion program, the court concluded that the circumstances of the case were too serious based, inter alia, on the defendant’s participation in a fraternal organization and, sua sponte, terminated his participation in the accelerated rehabilitation program. Held: 1. Contrary to the state’s claim, the trial court’s ruling terminating the defendant’s participation in the accelerated rehabilitation program was a final judgment for the purposes of appeal; consistent with the ordinary meaning of the plain language of the court, this court concluded that the ruling, in which the court stated it was going to terminate the defendant’s participation in the accelerated rehabilitation program, con- stituted a termination of the defendant’s participation in the program under § 54-56e and not a reconsideration and denial of the program. 2. The trial court abused its discretion in terminating the defendant’s partici- pation in the accelerated rehabilitation program: the defendant was not afforded notice that the court intended to terminate his participation in the program, the court did not allow the defendant to be heard on the issue of termination and the defendant did not have the opportunity to present evidence regarding successful compliance with the program; moreover, the court improperly based its decision to terminate the defendant’s participation on extrajudicial information related to a frater- nal organization in which the defendant participated, the defendant was not informed of the source of the information or given any opportunity to review or to rebut it, and the mere allegation of concerning activities of the fraternal organization without additional evidence was an insuffi- cient basis to terminate the defendant’s participation in the program. Argued September 15—officially released December 1, 2020

Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with the crime of sexual assault in the fourth degree, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Hartford, geographical area number twelve, where the court, McNamara, J., granted the defendant’s application for accelerated rehabilitation; thereafter, the court, McNa- mara, J., terminated the order of accelerated rehabilita- tion, and the defendant appealed to this court. Reversed; further proceedings. Trent A. LaLima, with whom, on the brief, was Hubert J. Santos, for the appellant (defendant). Kathryn W. Bare, senior assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Gail P. Hardy, former state’s attorney, and Adam Scott, supervisory assistant state’s attorney, for the appellee (state). Opinion

ALVORD, J. The defendant, Minh Anh Han, appeals from the judgment of the trial court terminating1 his participation in the accelerated rehabilitation program. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court abused its discretion by sua sponte terminating his par- ticipation in the program.2 We conclude that the court abused its discretion in terminating the defendant’s par- ticipation in the accelerated rehabilitation program. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. The following facts and procedural history are rele- vant to our resolution of this appeal. On May 12, 2017, the defendant was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual assault in the second degree in viola- tion of General Statutes § 53a-71 (a) (7), and one count of sexual assault in the fourth degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-73a (a) (5).3 On May 15, 2018, the state filed a substitute information. The state with- drew the second degree sexual assault charges4 and charged the defendant only with one count of sexual assault in the fourth degree. On that date, the defendant applied for admission to the accelerated rehabilitation program pursuant to General Statutes § 54-56e.5 On June 5, 2018, the trial court, Oliver, J., denied the defendant’s application for the accelerated rehabilita- tion program after concluding that the allegations against the defendant were too serious and that it could not find that the defendant would probably not offend again in the future. On November 29, 2018, the trial court, McNamara, J., reconsidered the defendant’s application for accelerated rehabilitation and granted it. The court imposed the maximum statutory period of supervision, two years, and the following conditions on the defendant: ‘‘[1] obey all state and federal laws . . . [2] comply with any other counseling and treat- ment deemed appropriate by [the Court Support Ser- vices Division, Office of Adult Probation (probation)] and continue with treatment . . . [3] have no contact with [the] victim . . . and [4] after a period of [acceler- ated rehabilitation and with] the approval of [probation] . . . may [travel] overseas for medical work.’’ By letter dated March 8, 2019, a probation officer, Amy Gile, sent a letter to the court, copying the state’s attorney office and defense counsel, in which she asserted the following: Upon the defendant’s admission to the program, probation referred the defendant for a sex offender evaluation. On January 28, 2019, he was ‘‘deemed appropriate’’ for sex offender treatment at The Connection, a center for the treatment of problem sexual behavior. The evaluator at The Connection assessed the defendant as a ‘‘moderate’’ risk for reof- fending. On February 14, 2019, the defendant signed a treatment agreement with The Connection, which included, inter alia, a condition that he ‘‘not [act] in a position of power over others.’’ Thereafter, the defendant disclosed to probation that he was a participant in the ManKind Project. Probation found that ‘‘the Man[K]ind Project is a global network of nonprofit organizations focused on modern male ini- tiation, self-awareness, and personal growth.’’ The defendant was participating in ManKind Project online groups and hosting meetings at his home, and he had submitted an ‘‘action plan’’ to probation requesting that he be allowed to attend out of state retreats with the ManKind Project, including one in New York.

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Bluebook (online)
201 Conn. App. 568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-han-connappct-2020.