State v. Cayo
State v. Cayo
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The defendant, Andre Cayo, appeals from the judgment of the Superior Court entering a nolle prosequi (nolle) brought by the state’s attorney on the infraction of operating a motor vehicle with an obstructed windshield in violation of General Statutes § 14-99f (c) (infraction), denying him a trial de novo, and denying his motion to dismiss the infraction and the nolle. On appeal, the defendant claims that his rights
On December 18, 2011, the defendant was issued a “complaint ticket” for the alleged infraction.
I
The state has raised a question regarding this court’s subject matter jurisdiction, which we must address
“The meaning of a statute shall, in the first instance, be ascertained from the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered.” General Statutes § l-2z.
Section 51-193u provides: “(a) Cases involving motor vehicle violations, excluding alleged violations of sections 14-215, 14-222, 14-222a, 14-224 and 14-227a and any other motor vehicle violation involving a possible term of imprisonment, or any violation, as defined in section 53a-27, which are scheduled for the entering of a plea may be handled by a magistrate.
“(b) Infractions and violations designated in subsection (a) of this section in which a plea of not guilty has
“(c) Magistrates shall have the authority to accept pleas of guilty or of not guilty, to accept pleas of nolo contendere and enter findings of guilty thereon, to impose fines, to set bonds, to forfeit bonds, to continue cases to a date certain, to enter nolles brought by the prosecutorial official, to recommend suspension under section 14-1 lib, 14-140 or 15-154, to order notices of intention to suspend motor vehicle licenses and registrations, to order issuance of a mittimus if a defendant has been found able to pay and fails to pay, to remit fines, to impose or waive fees and costs, to hear and decide motions, to dismiss cases and to decide cases that are tried before him.
“(d) A decision of the magistrate, including any penalty imposed, shall become a judgment of the court if no demand for a trial de novo is filed. Such decision of the magistrate shall become null and void if a timely demand for a trial de novo is filed. A demand for a trial de novo shall be filed with the court clerk within five days of the date the decision was rendered by the magistrate and, if filed by the prosecutorial official, it shall include a certification that a copy thereof has been served on the defendant or his attorney, in accordance with the rules of court. No record of the proceedings shall be required to be kept.”
The state first argues that a decision to enter a nolle solely is within the discretion of the prosecutor and, therefore, is not a “decision of the magistrate,” as that phrase is used in § 51-193u (d). It argues, thus, that the nolle is not a decision from which a demand for a trial de novo can be made before the trial court, and both the trial court and this court have no jurisdiction to consider the matter. We are not persuaded.
The state also argues, in the alternative, that if the nolle in this case was a “decision of the magistrate,” the demand for a trial de novo reinstated the infraction and rendered the magistrate’s decision “null and void.” It further argues that the denial of the defendant’s motion to dismiss by the trial court was an interlocutory decision and the case remains pending before the trial court, with no final judgment having been rendered. Under the specific facts of this case, we are not persuaded.
The magistrate entered a nolle over the objection of the defendant. As stated, this constituted a decision of the magistrate, from which, pursuant to § 51-193u (d),
On the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that the trial court had jurisdiction in this case and that the defendant’s appeal properly is before us. See generally State v. Lloyd, supra, 185 Conn. 207-208 (appeal from entry of nolle permitted because cannot later be remedied by reversal of conviction after trial).
II
We next consider the defendant’s claim that his rights pursuant to § 54-56b and Practice Book § 39-30
“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, including the question of whether the language actually does apply.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Fernando A., 294 Conn. 1, 13-14, 981 A.2d 427 (2009). Pursuant to § 1-2z, we look to the text of the statute to
Section 54-56b provides: “A nolle prosequi may not be entered as to any count in a complaint or information if the accused objects to the nolle prosequi and demands either a trial or dismissal, except with respect to prosecutions in which a nolle prosequi is entered upon a representation to the court by the prosecuting official that a material witness has died, disappeared or become disabled or that material evidence has disappeared or has been destroyed and that a further investigation is therefore necessary.” (Emphasis added.)
The state asserts that § 54-56b does not apply in the present case because the defendant was charged with an infraction via a ticket or summons, and a ticket or summons is not a “complaint or information.” The state further argues that General Statutes § 54-46 requires that “all ‘crimes’ must be charged by ‘complaint or information,’ ”andthat§ 51-164n “provide[s] that infractions and specific violations be brought by summons, that a summons is not ‘arrest’ and that an infraction ‘shall not be an offense within the meaning of section 54a-24.’ ” The state admits, however, that “[c]ourt rules do require that infractions be prosecuted by ‘information or complaint’; [Practice Book] §§ 36-7, 36-11, 44-22; and that the nolle of an infraction in a defendant’s absence shall not waive the right to seek dismissal under section 39-30. [Practice Book] § 44-27 (d). . . . Nonetheless, [the state argues that] the court rules do not affect the substantive application of ... § 54-56b in excluding infractions from those nolles which require judicial approval.” We are not persuaded by the state’s argument and conclude that the defendant’s ticket or summons, in fact, is a complaint as it is clearly labeled, and that § 54-56b, therefore, applies.
“(c) If any person who is alleged to have committed an infraction . . . elects to pay the fine and any additional fees or costs established for such infraction . . . he shall send payment, by mail or otherwise, to the Centralized Infractions Bureau, made payable to the ‘clerk of the Superior Court’. . . . The Judicial Department shall provide notice of the provisions of this subsection to law enforcement agencies and direct each law enforcement agency issuing a complaint to provide such notice to any person who is alleged to have committed a motor vehicle infraction ... at the time a complaint alleging such conduct is issued to such person.
“(d) If the person elects to plead not guilty, he shall send the plea of not guilty to the Centralized Infractions Bureau. The bureau shall send such plea and request for trial to the clerk of the geographical area where the trial is to be conducted. Such clerk shall advise such person of a date certain for a hearing.
“(e) A summons for the commission of an infraction . . . shall not be deemed to be an arrest and the commission of an infraction . . . shall not be deemed to be an offense within the meaning of section 53a-24. . . .
“(g) In any trial for the alleged commission of an infraction, the practice, procedure, rules of evidence
Subsection (c) clearly states that the law enforcement agency issuing a complaint for a motor vehicle infraction is to provide notice of the payment procedures to the person alleged to have committed such infraction at the time the complaint alleging such conduct is issued. General Statutes (Rev. to 2011) § 51-164n (c). Subsection (d) then directs that if the person receiving the complaint for a motor vehicle infraction elects to plead not guilty, the person must send the not guilty plea to the centralized infractions bureau, who must send this plea and request for trial to the clerk of the geographical area where the trial is to be conducted, and the clerk then must advise the person of the trial date. General Statutes (Rev. to 2011) § 51-164n (d).
We conclude that this language sets forth the procedures for processing motor vehicle infraction complaints that are issued by law enforcement agencies. This, taken together with the mandate of § 54-56b that a nolle “may not be entered as to any count in a complaint or information if the accused objects to the nolle . . . and demands either a trial or dismissal ...” leads us to the firm conclusion that the defendant’s infraction ticket was a complaint, and, therefore, he was entitled to object to the entry of a nolle and demand a trial or a dismissal. See General Statutes § 54-56b; General Statutes (Rev. to 2011) § 51-164n.
Upon the specific facts of this case, we conclude that the defendant timely objected to the entry of a nolle by the magistrate and demanded a trial or a dismissal, which the magistrate improperly refused and, thereafter, entered the nolle. The defendant then requested a trial de novo, which the Superior Court clerk’s office informed him was improper because no trial had been conducted by the magistrate. We conclude that this decision also was incorrect because the defendant timely had demanded a trial de novo following the decision of the magistrate to enter a nolle. The defendant in this case properly followed the procedures available to him to protect his right to a dismissal or to a trial.
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings according to law.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The ticket presented to the defendant for his motor vehicle infraction specifically states at its top, in bold capitalized letters: “COMPLAINT TICKET.” It then provides: “The officer complains that...” and lists identifying information concerning the defendant, his vehicle and the infraction he was charged with having committed.
It is not contested that the defendant objected to the nolle prosequi at the time it entered, although a transcript of the proceedings is not available. See General Statutes § 51-193u (d) (providing that no record of magistrate proceedings is required to be kept).
Practice Book § 39-30 provides: “Where a prosecution is initiated by complaint or information, the defendant may object to the entering of a nolle prosequi at the time it is offered by the prosecuting authority and may demand either a trial or a dismissal, except when a nolle prosequi is entered upon a representation to the judicial authority by the prosecuting authority that a material witness has died, disappeared or become disabled or that material evidence has disappeared or has been destroyed and that a further investigation is therefore necessary.”
We also note Practice Book § 44-27, which provides: “(a) Upon entry of a plea of not guilty to an infraction or to a violation which is payable by mail pursuant to statute, the clerk shall file such plea and forthwith transmit the file to the prosecuting authority for review.
“(c) Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with the criminal rules of evidence and with the provisions of chapter 42 insofar as the provisions of that chapter are applicable.
“(d) A nolle prosequi or a dismissal may be entered in the absence of the defendant. In the event a nolle prosequi or a dismissal is entered in the matter, the clerk shall send a written notice of such disposition to any defendant who was not before the court at the time of such disposition. The entry of a nolle prosequi hereunder shall not operate as a waiver of the defendant’s right thereafter to seek a dismissal pursuant to Section 39-30."
We also are aware that the legislature recently revised § 51-164n, effective October 1, 2012. See Public Acts 2012, No. 12-133, § 8. The revision added a new subsection (g) and redesignated the remaining subsections. Subsection (g) of § 51-164n now provides: “If a person elects to plead not guilty
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.