State v. Schimanski

201 Conn. App. 164
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedNovember 3, 2020
DocketAC41802
StatusPublished

This text of 201 Conn. App. 164 (State v. Schimanski) 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. Schimanski, 201 Conn. App. 164 (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. ANASTASIA SCHIMANSKI (AC 41802) Elgo, Bright and Moll, Js.*

Syllabus

Convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of the crime of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, the defendant appealed to this court, challenging the trial court’s denial of her motion to dismiss counts in the state’s first substitute information. The defendant was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and her license was suspended for forty-five days pursuant to statute (§ 14-227b (i)) as a result of her refusal to take a chemical alcohol test. The defendant was subsequently ordered not to operate a vehicle that was not equipped with an ignition interlock device. Forty-seven days after the suspension began, the defendant operated a vehicle that did not have an ignition interlock device installed in it and allegedly struck another motor vehicle. Thereafter, she was charged with, inter alia, operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension in violation of the applicable statute (§ 14-215 (c) (1)) and operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device in violation of the applicable statute (§ 14-227k (a) (2)). The defendant moved for a dismissal of these charges against her, claiming that the forty-five day suspension of her license had expired and that she had not yet been obligated to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock device installed. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss. The state subsequently filed a second substitute information charging the defendant solely with operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension. From the judgment of conviction, the defendant appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss the count of the state’s first substitute information charging her with operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension: the text of § 14- 215 (c) (1) penalizes a person who operates a motor vehicle while, inter alia, her license is under suspension pursuant to § 14-227b, and the text of § 14-227b (i) (1) mandates the installation of an ignition interlock device in any motor vehicle operated by that individual before the resto- ration of her license, thus, the defendant’s license remained suspended following the forty-five day statutory period until she installed an ignition interlock device, the defendant’s reliance on case law that predated amendments to § 14-227b was unavailing, and this court declined to apply the rule of lenity where the statutory text concerning the lack of restoration on the forty-five day period of suspension is not ambiguous; moreover, the defendant lacked standing to bring an equal protection claim because she was not aggrieved: although the defendant claimed that requiring the installation of an ignition interlock device before a license suspension can be lifted imposes undue burdens on indigent individuals who cannot afford the fees associated with the installation of such a device, the defendant paid the fees to install an ignition interlock device and to restore her license, she did not identify any specific personal and legal interest that had been specially and injuri- ously affected, and there was no basis on the record to find that the defendant was reasonably likely to incur future criminal liability relating to the ignition interlock device requirement. 2. The defendant’s appeal was dismissed with respect to her claim challeng- ing the trial court’s denial of her motion to dismiss the charge against her of operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device from the state’s first substitute information: the defendant’s claim was moot as a result of the state’s decision not to charge the defendant with a violation of § 14-227k (a) (2) in its second substitute information; moreover, the defendant’s claim that the state could not recharge her with a violation of § 14-227k (a) (2) was not justiciable because it was not ripe, as it might never transpire. Argued June 19—officially released November 3, 2020 Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with the crimes of operating a motor vehicle with a sus- pended license, avoidance of an interlock ignition device and evading responsibility in the operation of a motor vehicle, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of New Haven, geographical area num- ber twenty-three, where the court, Spader, J., denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss the charges of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license and avoidance of an interlock ignition device; thereafter, the state filed a second substitute information charging the defendant with the crime of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license; subsequently, the defendant was presented to the court on a conditional plea of nolo contendere to the charge of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license; judgment of guilty in accor- dance with the plea, from which the defendant appealed to this court. Appeal dismissed in part; affirmed. Aaron J. Levin, certified legal intern, with whom was James B. Streeto, senior assistant public defender, for the appellant (defendant). Kathryn W. Bare, assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Patrick J. Griffin, state’s attorney, and Sean P. McGuinness, assistant state’s attorney, for the appellee (state). Opinion

MOLL, J. The defendant, Anastasia Schimanski, appeals from the judgment of conviction rendered by the trial court following her conditional plea of nolo contendere to operating a motor vehicle while her license was suspended in violation of General Statutes § 14-215 (c) (1). On appeal, the defendant claims that the court erred in denying her motion to dismiss directed to (1) count one of the state’s first substitute information charging her with a violation of § 14-215 (c) (1), and (2) count two of the state’s first substitute information charging her with operating a motor vehicle not equipped with a functioning ignition interlock device (IID) in violation of General Statutes § 14-227k (a) (2). We conclude that (1) the court properly denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss as to count one of the state’s first substitute information, and (2) the defen- dant’s claims directed to the denial of her motion to dismiss as to the second count of the first substitute information are either moot or not ripe.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Chapman Lumber, Inc. v. Tager
952 A.2d 1 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2008)
State v. TD
944 A.2d 288 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2008)
Office of the Governor v. Select Committee of Inquiry
858 A.2d 709 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2004)
State v. Brito
154 A.3d 535 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2017)
State v. Kallberg
160 A.3d 1034 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2017)
Town of Glastonbury v. Metro. Dist. Comm'n
179 A.3d 201 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2018)
State v. Jacobson
644 A.2d 331 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1994)
Mayer v. Biafore, Florek & O'Neill
713 A.2d 1267 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 1998)
State v. Long
847 A.2d 862 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2004)
State v. Lutters
853 A.2d 434 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2004)
State v. T.D.
286 Conn. 353 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2008)
Town of New Hartford v. Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority
970 A.2d 583 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2009)
State v. Jacobson
627 A.2d 474 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1993)
State v. Cook
653 A.2d 829 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
201 Conn. App. 164, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-schimanski-connappct-2020.