State v. Seiden
State v. Seiden
Opinion of the Court
There was substantial, although conflicting evidence, on which the court could find the following facts. On September 22, 1968, Officer Daziel of the Milford police department was checking buildings at two o’clock in the morning, in the performance of his duties. He heard loud screams, yelling, and profanity emanating from a residence a block away and immediately drove to the place. On his way there, he radioed police headquarters for assistance and, in response, Officer Stygles arrived
Upon trial, the defendant was found not guilty on the two counts of breach of the peace and resisting arrest at 18 Merwin Avenue. He was found guilty of breach of the peace committed at the police station. The court concluded that this offense was unrelated to the other two charges and that the defendant had committed a separate offense by reason of his actions, conduct and language at the police headquarters in Milford. From the judgment on the third count the defendant has appealed. In his assignment of errors, he has included numerous claims based upon the court’s failure to correct the finding, except in a few particulars, in accordance with his motion to correct. He also assigned error in the ultimate conclusion of the court that upon all the evidence the defendant was guilty of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt. This last assignment makes unnecessary a detailed consideration of the claims of error directed against the finding. State v. Serkau, 128 Conn. 153, 154. Such a general assignment is determined by an examination of the evidence and not by a finding of facts. Practice Book § 995; State v. Salvaggio, 152 Conn. 716, 717. “We have given consideration to the finding, however, for the purpose of showing the specific facts found by the court upon conflicting evidence. State v. Dziob, 133 Conn. 167, 168 . . . .” State v. Foord, 142 Conn. 285, 287.
We have examined the evidence and are of the opinion that there is no substantial dispute as to the facts found by the court, nor would any correction of the finding be of any assistance to the decision we have arrived at, as a matter of law, on the basis of the facts found.
The facts in the present case, as they pertain to the situation preceding the unlawful entry and illegal arrest, approximated those in State v. Elliott, 153 Conn. 147. In that case, police officers, acting upon a complaint, approached the defendant’s house for the purpose of investigating a disturbance. While doing so they could hear swearing, screaming, loud profane words and the loud noise of a jukebox coming from inside. When the defendant opened the door, they heard more of the same. They had no search or arrest warrant. Our Supreme Court held (p. 153): “Under these circumstances the officers had probable cause to believe that the crime of keeping a disorderly house was being committed before them and to arrest the defendant as the owner and occupant for that offense without a warrant.” The court also held that if the officers had probable cause to believe that such a crime was being or had just been committed, “then they were authorized to make an arrest for that offense without a warrant and, as incidental to that arrest, to enter the house to make a search.” Id., 152. Had Officer Daziel entered the Danz apartment for the purpose of subduing the disturbance, which happened in his presence, he would have had probable cause to do so, and no warrant would have been needed to justify his entry. He had no authority to enter the defendant’s apartment and to arrest the defendant, as the trial court correctly concluded.
The remaining question is whether the occurrence at the police headquarters was a disconnected and
In State v. Licari, 132 Conn. 220, where the defendant was twice presented for a motor vehicle offense arising out of one continuous journey, because the travel included two contiguous towns, it was held, in effect, that the defendant would be exposed to double jeopardy if prosecuted twice for the same continuing offense. Although the question of double jeopardy was not pressed in the instant case, because all counts were contained in the same information and prosecuted at the same trial, the point of law as to continuity of all charges, making them all one offense, must be considered by us, in justice to the claims of the defendant. The following quotation from the Licari case at page 223 is apt: “In Block-burger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 302, . . . two statements from 1 Wharton, Criminal Law (11th Ed.), § 34, and the note thereto, are incorporated as follows: ‘. . . when the impulse is single, but one indictment lies, no matter how long the action may continue. If successive impulses are separately given, even though all unite in swelling a common stream of action, separate indictments lie.’ . . . ‘The test is whether the individual acts are prohibited, or the course of action which they constitute. If the former, then each act is punishable separately
As we have already stated, the undisputed facts show that after his illegal arrest the defendant continued to struggle and protest even after his arrival at the police headquarters. He was highly indignant at being deprived of his liberty. All of this time he was manacled. We do not condone the language that may have been used. But the right to seek his freedom was his, as clearly appears from the facts. State v. Amara, supra.
There is error, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment that the defendant is not guilty and ordering that he be discharged.
In this opinion Dearington and Kinmonth, Js., concurred.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.