State v. Parham

797 A.2d 599, 70 Conn. App. 223, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 295
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJune 4, 2002
DocketAC 21710
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 797 A.2d 599 (State v. Parham) 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. Parham, 797 A.2d 599, 70 Conn. App. 223, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 295 (Colo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Opinion

HENNESSY, J.

The defendant, Eric M. Parham, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial to the court, of speeding in violation of General Statutes § 14-219 (c) (2).1 On appeal, the defendant argues that the court improperly (1) found that there was sufficient evidence to convict him of speeding and (2) took judicial notice that “everyone exceeds the posted speed limit” to discredit his theory that the device used to measure his speed was malfunctioning. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The record sets forth the following facts and procedural history. On December 7, 2000, the defendant was operating a motor vehicle on Blue Hills Avenue in Bloomfield. Arthur Fredericks, a Bloomfield police officer, was conducting speed monitoring surveillance on Blue Hills Avenue with a laser speed monitoring device (laser).2 Fredericks observed the defendant traveling at [225]*225what he believed, based on his five years of experience, was a speed above the posted limit. Fredericks then used the laser to measure the defendant’s speed. The laser registered the defendant’s vehicle traveling at sixty-eight miles per hour in an area with a posted speed limit of forty-five miles per hour.3 Fredericks then stopped the defendant and issued him a summons charging him with speeding in excess of sixty miles per hour in violation of § 14-219 (c) (2). On January 2, 2001, the defendant entered a plea of not guilty. After a trial, the court found the defendant guilty, imposed a fine in the amount of one hundred dollars and remitted twenty-five dollar's. The defendant appealed from the judgment of the court.

I

The defendant first claims that the court improperly found that there was sufficient evidence to convict him of speeding. The defendant argues that because the state failed to satisfy § 14-219c (3) and (5),4 5the court improperly (1) afforded a presumption of accuracy as to the laser’s reading and (2) based its finding on that [226]*226presumption.5 Specifically, the defendant argues that Fredericks used the laser near power lines, and thus it was not “used in an area where road conditions provide a minimum possibility of distortion . . . .” General Statutes § 14-219c (3). He also argues that Fredericks did not test the laser within a reasonable time after the defendant received the summons and therefore did not meet the requirements of § 14-219c (5). We disagree because the court did not afford the statutory presumption in §14-219c but properly weighted the testimony as evidence.

We first address the defendant’s sufficiency of evidence claim. “The standard of review employed in a sufficiency of the evidence claim is well settled. [W]e apply a two part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the [finder of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Senquiz, 68 Conn. App. 571, 575-76, 793 A.2d 1095, cert. denied, 260 Conn. 923, 797 A.2d 519 (2002).

A

The defendant contends that there was insufficient evidence to establish a presumption of accuracy of the laser reading under § 14-219c and, thus, his conviction cannot stand because the court improperly established the element of speed on the basis of that presumption. We find the defendant’s argument unavailing.6 Upon [227]*227review of the record and transcript, we conclude that the court did not presume the accuracy of the laser reading when admitting it into evidence, and the court properly found that there was sufficient evidence to convict the defendant of speeding in violation of § 14-219 (c) (2).

The following additional facts are necessary to the resolution of this claim. The defendant testified that the laser reading was necessarily incorrect because he had an electronic engine speed limiter on his vehicle that allowed it to travel in second gear at a maximum of sixty-two miles per hour.7 Fredericks testified that on the day in question he had tested the calibration of the laser in the rear lot at the police station using a standard test procedure at the beginning of his shift and that it had passed. He further testified that he saw the laser’s certificate of calibration when he signed it out from the police station. Fredericks also identified the calibration certificate at trial and testified that it indicated that Gore Laboratory (Gore) had issued it on December 6, 2000, the day before the laser was used by Fredericks to measure the defendant’s speed. Finally, he testified that the certificate indicated that the laser had been calibrated and was functioning properly on December 6, 2000, and that it was certified until June 6, 2001, which was the next scheduled testing date for the laser. The certificate was admitted into evidence without objection by the defendant.

Our analysis of this claim is guided by case law that interprets the purpose of § 14-219c. Here, the defendant incorrectly argues that § 14-219c sets out a test for the admissibility of evidence. It does not. As did the defen[228]*228dant in State v. Trantolo, 37 Conn. Sup. 601, 430 A.2d 465 (1981), the defendant in the present case misinterprets the purpose of § 14-219c and confuses the admissibility of evidence with its weight. In Trantolo, the Appellate Session of the Superior Court explained that the purpose of § 14-219c is to provide a presumption of accuracy for a laser reading when the state satisfies the five conditions contained therein and that it is not a test of the admissibility of a laser reading. The court made clear that “the fact that aprima facie presumption is created by [§ 14-219c] if the several conditions required are proved does not mean that evidence falling short of establishing those conditions must be excluded if it would be otherwise admissible.” Id., 603. Further, the court stated that “[t]he quantum of evidence required to pass the threshold of admissibility must be distinguished from that requirement to establish aprima facie case or to satisfy the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal case. 1 Wigmore, Evidence (3d Ed.) § 29.” State v. Trantolo, supra, 604.

In rendering its decision, the court accepted the evidence that the state presented at trial and properly rejected the defendant’s testimony regarding a speed limiter. In light of the relevant case law, we conclude that the court was correct in not granting the laser reading a presumption of accuracy, and properly relied on the uncontested admission of the laser’s calibration certificate and Fredericks’ testimony to support its decision to admit the laser reading into evidence.

B

The defendant next argues that there was insufficient evidence that the laser device was functioning properly and, therefore, the court improperly granted the laser reading a presumption of accuracy.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
797 A.2d 599, 70 Conn. App. 223, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 295, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-parham-connappct-2002.