Taylor v. Commissioner of Correction
Taylor v. Commissioner of Correction
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The plaintiff, David Taylor, who presently is incarcerated in this state, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his petition for a declaratory judgment ordering that the defendant, the commissioner of correction, grant the plaintiffs request to serve the remainder of his prison sentence in the United Kingdom. The plaintiff claims that the court improperly determined that he was not aggrieved by the defendant’s decision not to grant his request for a transfer to the United Kingdom and therefore lacked standing to bring the present action. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The following undisputed facts are relevant to our consideration of this appeal. The plaintiff, a citizen of the United Kingdom, presently is serving a mandatory minimum twenty-five year sentence in connection with his conviction for the murder of his girlfriend.
On April 13, 2010, the plaintiff filed his complaint requesting a declaratory judgment ordering that the defendant transfer him to serve the remainder of his sentence in the United Kingdom. Citing General Statutes § 18-91a, 18 U.S.C. § 4100 et seq. and the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, March 21, 1983,35 U.S.T. 2867,1496 U.N.T.S. 92 (treaty), the plaintiff asserted that the defendant had imposed arbitrary conditions on his transfer in violation of state, federal and international law.
On May 14, 2010, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss. The defendant argued that the plaintiff had failed to allege a violation of any right guaranteed to him by state or federal law.
The plaintiff claims that the court improperly determined that he was not aggrieved by the defendant’s decision not to grant his request for a transfer and therefore lacked standing to bring the present action. He argues that he is both classically and statutorily aggrieved in that he has a personal and protectable interest in being transferred to his country of citizenship. Although § 18-9 la provides that the defendant “may” consent to the international transfer of a prisoner, the plaintiff maintains that the statute does not
“[Standing is not a technical rule intended to keep aggrieved parties out of court; nor is it a test of substantive rights. Rather it is a practical concept designed to ensure that courts and parties are not vexed by suits brought to vindicate nonjusticiable interests and that judicial decisions which may affect the rights of others are forged in hot controversy, with each view fairly and vigorously represented. . . . Two broad yet distinct categories of aggrievement exist, classical and statutory. . . . Classical aggrievement requires a two part showing. First, a party must demonstrate a specific, personal and legal interest in the subject matter of the decision, as opposed to a general interest that all members of the community share. . . . Second, the party must also show that the [party’s] decision has specially and injuriously affected that specific personal or legal interest. . . . Aggrievement does not demand certainty, only the possibility of an adverse effect on a legally protected interest. . . . Statutory aggrievement exists by legislative fiat, not by judicial analysis of the particular facts of the case. In other words, in cases of statutory aggrievement, particular legislation grants standing to those who claim injury to an interest protected by that legislation. . . . Where a party is found to lack standing, the court is consequently without subject matter jurisdiction to determine the cause. . . . We have long held that because [a] determination regarding a trial court’s subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law, our review is plenary.” (Citations
Section 18-91a (a) provides: “If a treaty between the United States and a foreign country provides for the transfer or exchange of convicted offenders to the country of which they are citizens or nationals, the Commissioner of Correction may, on behalf of the state and subject to the terms of the treaty, consent to the transfer or exchange of offenders and take any other action necessary to initiate the participation of the state in the treaty. No offender shall be transferred or exchanged under this section unless he consents to such transfer or exchange.”
We agree with the court that the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he was aggrieved by the defendant’s decision to deny his request for a transfer and that, accordingly, the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the present action. First, we conclude that the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he was statutorily aggrieved by the defendant’s decision. “In order to determine whether a party has standing to make a claim under a statute, a court must determine the interests and the parties that the statute was designed to protect. . . . Essentially the standing question in such cases is whether the . . . statutory provision on which the claim rests properly can be understood as granting persons in the plaintiffs position a right to judicial relief.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) McWeeny v. Hartford, 287 Conn. 56, 65, 946 A.2d 862 (2008). Accordingly, whether § 18-91a provides for statutory aggrievement is a question of statutory interpretation. “When construing a statute, [o]ur fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature. ... In other words, we seek to determine, in a reasoned manner, the meaning of the statutory language as applied to the facts of [the] case.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Brouillard v. Connecticut Siting
On the basis of the clear and unambiguous language of the statute, we conclude that § 18-9 la does not confer standing on the plaintiff on the basis of statutory aggrievement. Section 18-91a does not provide for judicial review of the defendant’s decision not to grant the plaintiffs request to be transferred. There is no language within the statute that could be construed as granting persons in the plaintiffs position a right to judicial relief. Accordingly, the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate statutory aggrievement. Therefore, to have standing, the plaintiff must demonstrate classical aggrievement.
We conclude that the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that he was classically aggrieved. As the court found, the plaintiff has not identified any legally protected interest that the defendant’s decision has specially and injuriously affected. See Brouillard v. Connecticut Siting Council, supra, 133 Conn. App. 854. The plaintiff asserts that § 18-91a recognizes that he has such an interest in being transferred to the United Kingdom
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The facts underlying the plaintiffs criminal conviction are set forth fully in this court’s opinion in Taylor v. Commissioner of Correction, 94 Conn. App. 772, 775-76, 895 A.2d 246 (2006), rev’d in part, 284 Conn. 433, 936 A.2d 611 (2007).
Additionally, the defendant alleged that the plaintiffs action was barred by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Although the defendant renews this argument on appeal, we need not reach it in light of our conclusion that the court’s dismissal of the action on standing grounds was proper.
The plaintiff does not argue that the treaty itself affords him such an interest. Rather, the plaintiff discusses the treaty as a part of his review of the legislative history underlying the enactment of § 18-91a. His claim is based on the rights afforded by § 18-91a.
Citing State ex rel. Markley v. Bartlett, 130 Conn. 88, 32 A.2d 58 (1943), the plaintiff argues that the word “may” in § 18-91a should be construed to mean “shall.” We disagree. “[A]s opposed to [d]efinitive words, such as must or shall, [which] ordinarily express legislative mandates of a nondirectory nature . . . the word may imports permissive conduct and the conferral of discretion. . . . Only when the context of legislation permits such interpretation and if the interpretation is necessary to make a legislative enactment effective to carry out its purposes, should the word may be interpreted as mandatory rather than directory.” (Citations omitted; emphasis added; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Bletsch, 281 Conn. 5, 17-18, 912 A.2d 992 (2007). Having determined that the text of the statute is clear and unambiguous, we conclude that the word “may” in § 18-91a should not be interpreted as being mandatory rather than permissive in nature. See General Statutes § l-2z.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- DAVID TAYLOR v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published