State v. Scott

851 A.2d 353, 83 Conn. App. 724, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 286
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedJuly 6, 2004
DocketAC 24258
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 851 A.2d 353 (State v. Scott) 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. Scott, 851 A.2d 353, 83 Conn. App. 724, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 286 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

Opinion

SCHALLER, J.

The defendant, Stanley Scott, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial to the court, of disorderly conduct in violation of General Statutes § 53a-182 (a) (2). On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him, (2) the statute is either unconstitutionally vague “as applied” to him or overbroad and (3) one of the conditions of his conditional discharge violates his rights under the first amendment to the federal constitution. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The evidence adduced at trial established the following facts. During the morning of December 28, 2002, the defendant was engaged in a protest outside of the New Haven Planned Parenthood of Connecticut, Inc. (Planned Parenthood), facility. At the time, Planned Parenthood occupied space on the second floor of an office building that also contained other businesses. His protest consisted of stopping cars and then chasing them into the parking lot of the building, using a bullhorn to shout at people entering Planned Parenthood and other businesses, and pressuring people to take literature from him despite their lack of interest. The defendant used the bullhorn to call people entering the office building “murderers” and “baby killers.” The noise from the defendant’s bullhorn could be heard within the center offices of the building.

The effects of the defendant’s protest were several. When one of the cars that the defendant chased was [726]*726turning into the parking lot, his actions caused the car to almost hit him, greatly upsetting the driver. The staff and patients were upset by the defendant’s behavior, and some of the patients began to cry. In addition, children attending a nearby dance studio were veiy disturbed by the defendant’s actions. The defendant also caused a minor backup of cars onto the street.

The defendant was arrested, tried and convicted of violating § 53a-182 (a) (2). On May 7, 2003, the court sentenced the defendant to ninety days of imprisonment, execution suspended, with a conditional discharge of one year. One of the conditions of the discharge was that the defendant could not be within 100 yards of any Planned Parenthood facility. This appeal followed.

I

Before we address the defendant’s claims, we must address the threshold issue of mootness. The defendant was sentenced on May 7, 2003, and the conditional discharge imposed by the court expired on May 7,2004. The defendant has met the conditions and completed the sentence. We must, therefore, determine whether this appeal is moot.

Mootness involves the court’s subject matter jurisdiction and is related to standing and justiciability. State v. McElveen, 261 Conn. 198, 204, 802 A.2d 74 (2002). Our Supreme Court has explained that to determine whether the case is justiciable, a four part test applies. Id. “Justiciability requires (1) that there be an actual controversy between or among the parties to the dispute ... (2) that the interests of the parties be adverse ... (3) that the matter in controversy be capable of being adjudicated by judicial power . . . and (4) that the determination of the controversy will result in practical relief to the complainant.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Even if the circumstances underly[727]*727ing the case change to preclude actual relief, however, the Supreme Court has recognized that “a controversy continues to exist, affording the court jurisdiction, if the actual injury suffered by the litigant potentially gives rise to a collateral injury from which the court can grant relief.” (Emphasis added.) Id., 205. “[F]or a litigant to invoke successfully the collateral consequences doctrine, the litigant must show that there is a reasonable possibility that prejudicial collateral consequences will occur. Accordingly, the litigant must establish these consequences by more than mere conjecture, but need not demonstrate that these consequences are more probable than not.” Id., 208.

The defendant’s first claim, which is that there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction, is not moot. “It is well established that since collateral legal disabilities are imposed as a matter of law because of a criminal conviction, a case will not be declared moot even where the sentence has been fully served. . . . The collateral consequences of a conviction are legion: subsequent convictions might, as a result, carry heavier penalties and a wide range of civil rights might be affected, including a defendant’s eligibility to hold public office.” (Citations omitted.) Barlow v. Lopes, 201 Conn. 103, 112-13, 513 A.2d 132 (1986). The defendant’s second claim, which is that the statute is unconstitutional, is also not moot because, if successful, it would invalidate his conviction. Despite the expiration of the defendant’s sentence, we will review the defendant’s first and second claims.

The defendant’s third claim is moot. There is no practical relief that a decision on this issue could provide because the defendant is no longer subject to the condition at issue. The defendant conceded as much at oral argument. As a consequence, we will not review the defendant’s third claim.

[728]*728II

The defendant claims that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of disorderly conduct. We disagree.

“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 [decision]. 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. . . . This court cannot substitute its own judgment for that of the [fact finder] if there is sufficient evidence to support the [decision].” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Elsey, 81 Conn. App. 738, 743-44, 841 A.2d 714, cert. denied, 269 Conn. 901, 852 A.2d 733 (2004); see also State v. Moore, 82 Conn. App. 267, 270, 843 A.2d 652 (applying standard to court trial), cert. denied, 269 Conn. 904, 852 A.2d 734 (2004).

General Statutes § 53a-182 (a) provides in relevant part: “A person is guilty of disorderly conduct when, with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, such person ... (2) by offensive or disorderly conduct, annoys or interferes with another person . . . .” Our Supreme Court, in State v. Indrisano, 228 Conn. 795, 818-19, 640 A.2d 986 (1994), held that this portion of the statute was unconstitutionally vague on its face, but applied a judicial gloss to the statute to save it from unconstitutionality. The court defined the individual components of the statute separately. First, the court interpreted the language, “with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof,” to mean that the defendant’s “specific] intent must be the predominant intent. Predominance can be [729]

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Bluebook (online)
851 A.2d 353, 83 Conn. App. 724, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 286, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scott-connappct-2004.