State v. Baker
State v. Baker
Opinion
The defendant, James Baker, appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Practice Book § 43-22. 1 After pleading guilty under the Alford doctrine 2 to possessing a weapon or dangerous instrument in a correctional institution in violation of General Statutes § 53a-174a (a), 3 the defendant was sentenced to eighteen months of imprisonment. The defendant claims on appeal that the trial court (1) improperly denied his motion to correct the eighteen month sentence because the sentence violates the double jeopardy clause 4 of the federal 5 constitution, and (2) abused its discretion by excluding evidence that was relevant to the disposition of the motion to correct. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. 6 The following facts and procedural history are relevant to this appeal. On February 16, 1999, the defendant, who was an inmate at the Garner Correctional Institution, was involved in a physical altercation with other inmates. At the time of the altercation, the defendant was serving a thirty-two year sentence of imprisonment for two 1994 murder convictions. Department of Correction (department) officers observed the defendant attempt to assault another inmate by charging at the inmate with a sharp object in his hand. Department officers ordered the defendant to drop the object, but the defendant ignored their commands and charged at several other inmates with the object in his hand. After suppressing the altercation, department officers recovered the sharp object and determined that it was a shank that had been fabricated from white cloth, masking tape, and two metal prongs.
On the same day of the incident, department investigators interviewed the defendant, who pleaded guilty in a department administrative proceeding to three violations of prison policy: (1) impeding order; (2) contraband (dangerous instrument); and (3) fighting. Department officials then imposed the following disciplinary sanctions on the defendant: (1) three disciplinary reports; (2) loss of 120 days of statutory good time credit; (3) loss of commissary privileges for ninety days; (4) loss of visits for sixty days; (5) confinement to quarters for thirty days; (6) punitive segregation for seven days; (7) loss of telephone privileges for forty days; and (8) loss of mail privileges for sixty days. Furthermore, sometime in March or April of 1999, after determining that the defendant was a security risk, the department transferred him to the maximum security prison at Northern Correctional Institution (Northern). The defendant was incarcerated at Northern for approximately one year.
On April 28, 1999, the state charged the defendant with one count of possessing a weapon or dangerous instrument in a correctional institution in violation of § 53a-174a (a). On October 13, 1999, the defendant pleaded guilty to that charge. The court sentenced the defendant to a period of eighteen months of incarceration to run consecutive to the sentence he already was serving for his previous murder convictions.
On August 9, 2013, the defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence, which was amended on August 29, 2013 (amended motion). In the amended motion, the defendant asserted that the eighteen month sentence of incarceration violated the double jeopardy protections of the state and federal constitutions because the sentence and department sanctions constituted multiple punishments for the same offense. The defendant listed fourteen items that he alleged the department had imposed as administrative sanctions for his conduct in the 1999 prison incident. The first eight items were set forth previously in this opinion. The remaining six items related to (1) the defendant's transfer to Northern and (2) the effect of the eighteen month sentence on the defendant's ability to enter a halfway house.
Following an evidentiary hearing on the amended motion, the trial court, Roraback, J., denied the defendant's motion. The court concluded that the eighteen month sentence was not imposed in violation of the defendant's protections against double jeopardy. In particular, the court ruled that the department sanctions were not "grossly disproportionate to the government's interest in maintaining prison order and discipline." Thereafter, the defendant filed a motion to reargue the matter, which the court granted. The court, however, affirmed its original ruling and denied the relief requested by the defendant. The court reiterated that the department sanctions did not violate the double jeopardy clause because they were not grossly disproportionate to the government's remedial interest in maintaining order and discipline. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.
I
In his first claim, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred in denying the amended motion because the eighteen month sentence of imprisonment violates his constitutional right against double jeopardy. Specifically, he argues that imposing this sentence after the department already had sanctioned him violated the double jeopardy clause's prohibition on imposing multiple criminal punishments for the same offense. The state responds that, because the department sanctions did not constitute criminal punishment, the double jeopardy clause did not preclude the court from imposing the eighteen month sentence. We agree with the state and conclude that trial court properly denied the defendant's amended motion.
We begin with the standard of review and relevant legal principles. "Ordinarily, a claim that the trial court improperly denied a defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence is reviewed pursuant to the abuse of discretion standard."
State v. Tabone,
Practice Book § 43-22provides that "[t]he judicial authority may at any time correct an illegal sentence or other illegal disposition, or it may correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner or any other disposition made in an illegal manner." Accordingly, "the trial court and this court, on appeal, have the power, at any time, to correct a sentence that is illegal." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State v. Constantopolous,
The double jeopardy clause of the fifth amendment to the federal constitution provides in relevant part that no person shall "be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb...." The double jeopardy clause guarantees three specific protections: "It protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal. It protects against a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction. And it protects against multiple punishments for the same offense." (Footnotes omitted.)
North Carolina v. Pearce,
The multiple punishments protection, however, does not "prohibit the imposition of all additional sanctions that could, in common parlance, be described as punishment." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hudson v. United States,
The United States Supreme Court has prescribed a two-pronged test for determining whether a sanction constitutes criminal punishment.
Hudson v. United States,
Under the second prong, the court must ask "whether the statutory scheme was so punitive either in purpose or effect ... as to transfor [m] what was clearly intended as a civil remedy into a criminal penalty." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
"It is particularly appropriate to apply the factors flexibly in the context of prison discipline cases, which do not fit neatly into the matrix of double jeopardy doctrine ... because in the prison context, virtually any form of sanction seems criminal and punitive as we commonly understand those terms." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Porter v. Coughlin,
Turning to the present case, Hudson first requires us to ask whether our legislature designated the statutory mechanism by which the department imposes sanctions as criminal or civil. We conclude that the legislature intended for the statutory mechanism to be civil in nature.
General Statutes § 18-81provides in relevant part: "The Commissioner of Correction shall administer, coordinate and control the operations of the department and shall be responsible for the overall supervision and direction of all institutions, facilities and activities of the department.... The commissioner shall be responsible for establishing disciplinary ... programs throughout the department...." "Section 18-81expressly permits the commissioner to promulgate the prison's administrative rules."
Beasley v. Commissioner of Correction,
Moreover, the sanction mechanism is not located within our state's penal code, as it instead relates to the "remedial purpose of allowing ... prison officials to maintain order and discipline."
State v. Santiago,
Having determined that our legislature intended to designate prison sanctions as civil penalties, we turn to
Hudson's
second prong. The second prong requires us to determine whether the statutory scheme is "so punitive either in purpose or effect ... as to transform what was clearly intended as a civil remedy into a criminal penalty...." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
The seven factors that the United States Supreme Court has identified as helpful in making this second
inquiry are only "useful guideposts";
In the present case, the defendant received several department sanctions after the department found that he had engaged in fighting, the possession of a dangerous weapon, and the impediment of order. In particular, the department imposed the following sanctions: (1) three disciplinary reports; (2) loss of 120 days of statutory good time credit; (3) loss of commissary privileges for ninety days; (4) loss of visits for sixty days; (5) confinement to quarters for thirty days; (6) punitive segregation for seven days; (7) loss of telephone privileges for forty days; (8) loss of mail privileges for sixty days; and (9) transfer to the maximum security facility at Northern.
Although the defendant has not provided a substantive analysis of the relevant factors, a few of the factors appear to support the defendant's contention that some of the sanctions are criminal in nature. In particular, the first, fourth, and fifth factors weigh in the defendant's favor.
7
Because the defendant already was incarcerated, most of the sanctions involve an "affirmative disability or restraint." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
The defendant relies mainly on the fourth factor, arguing that the sanctions "only [serve] to promote the traditional aims of punishment-retribution and deterrence." We note, however, that the "mere presence of [deterrence] is insufficient to render a sanction criminal, as deterrence may serve civil as well as criminal goals." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
The sixth and seventh factors weigh heavily against a finding that the sanctions are criminal. Courts that have applied the factors to prison sanctions generally have afforded greater weight to the last two factors than to the first five factors. See
Porter v. Coughlin,
Regarding the sixth factor, the department sanctions clearly have "an alternative purpose to which [they] may rationally be connected...."
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
Regarding the seventh factor, the department sanctions are not "excessive in relation to the alternative purpose assigned." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
Our courts regularly have held that sanctions similar to those imposed on the defendant, for misconduct similar to the defendant's actions, are not disproportionate to the department's remedial interests. See
State v. Santiago,
supra,
In sum, under Hudson 's first prong, we conclude that the legislature intended the department sanctions to be civil in nature, not criminal. Under Hudson's second prong, a careful weighing of the relevant factors demonstrates that the clearest proof that the department sanctions are so punitive in purpose or effect as to override the legislature's intent does not exist in this case. We conclude that the department sanctions were not criminal in nature and that they therefore did not constitute punishment for double jeopardy purposes.
Accordingly, because we conclude that the department sanctions do not constitute criminal punishment, the trial court properly found that the eighteen month prison sentence did not violate the double jeopardy clause's prohibition on imposing multiple punishments for the same offense, and, therefore, properly denied the motion to correct an illegal sentence.
II
The defendant's second claim on appeal is that the trial court improperly excluded evidence regarding the collateral consequences of the eighteen month prison sentence. Specifically, he argues that evidence suggesting that the eighteen month sentence had the consequence of delaying his release to a halfway house was relevant to the double jeopardy analysis. We do not reach the merits of this claim because the defendant has not briefed how he was harmed by the allegedly improper evidentiary ruling. Accordingly, we decline to review it.
The following additional facts and procedural history are relevant to this claim. At two points in the evidentiary hearing, defense counsel attempted to admit evidence relating to how the eighteen month sentence affected the defendant's ability to enter a halfway house. First, during direct examination of a department record specialist, counsel asked the witness "if the defendant could go to a halfway house as a result of this eighteen month sentence," and "if the defendant has a detainer because of this eighteen months." The state objected, arguing that the testimony was irrelevant. The court sustained the state's objection and explained: "The consequences of the sentence, I don't think, are relevant. It's the fact that the sentence was imposed that is at the heart of this matter.... I don't think the court is going to be looking to the severity of the sentence or the duration of the sentence. Rather ... I think the inquiry is going to be whether any sentence was appropriate because, if double jeopardy is to be implicated, it would necessarily mean that no sentence could be imposed."
Subsequently, with the defendant on the witness stand, defense counsel attempted the following examination:
"Q. [T]his eighteen months, that's consecutive to the current sentence?"
"A. Yes.
"Q. Okay. Now does that affect your time that you're now serving-I mean, in a halfway house-can you get out to a halfway house?
"A. No."
After the state objected, the court sustained the objection and stated: "Okay. And again, the court believes the inquiry goes not to the severity of any sentence that might be imposed, but as to the question of whether any sentence could lawfully have been imposed. So I'm going to sustain the objection."
"The trial court has wide discretion to determine the relevancy of evidence and [e]very reasonable presumption should be made in favor of the correctness of the court's ruling in determining whether there has been an abuse of discretion." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State v. Davis,
"It is well settled that, absent structural error, the mere fact that a trial court rendered an improper ruling does not entitle the party challenging that ruling to obtain a new trial. An improper ruling must also be harmful to justify such relief.... The harmfulness of an improper ruling is material irrespective of whether the ruling is subject to review under an abuse of discretion standard or a plenary review standard.... When the ruling at issue is not of constitutional dimensions, the party challenging the ruling bears the burden of proving harm." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
In
re James O.,
In the present case, the defendant has briefed a claim that the court erred in precluding evidence regarding the potential collateral consequences of his eighteen month sentence and has failed to address how the evidentiary ruling was harmful. Accordingly, we decline to review the claim.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Practice Book § 43-22provides: "The judicial authority may at any time correct an illegal sentence or other illegal disposition, or it may correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner or any other disposition made in an illegal manner."
See
North Carolina v. Alford,
General Statutes § 53a-174aprovides: "(a) A person is guilty of possession of a weapon or dangerous instrument in a correctional institution when, being an inmate of such institution, he knowingly makes, conveys from place to place or has in his possession or under his control any firearm, weapon, dangerous instrument, explosive, or any other substance or thing designed to kill, injure or disable.
"(b) Possession of a weapon or dangerous instrument in a correctional institution is a class B felony."
The fifth amendment to the United States constitution provides in relevant part: "[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb...."
The defendant also invokes the protections of our state constitution. "[When] ... the defendant has not presented a separate analysis of his double jeopardy claim under the state constitution, we confine our analysis to the application of the federal constitution's double jeopardy bar." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State v. Butler,
On appeal, the defendant argues for the first time that the sentence also violates the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment to the federal constitution. Although the defendant asserts that this claim is adequately preserved for our review, we disagree. The defendant's operative motion that is the subject of this appeal did not contain an eighth amendment claim. Moreover, the parties did not address an eighth amendment claim at trial, and the trial court neither considered nor ruled upon any such claim. "This court previously has recognized that [i]t is not appropriate to review an unpreserved claim of an illegal sentence for the first time on appeal." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State v. Crump,
The record does not indicate whether the sanctions implicate the third factor, which asks whether the sanctions were imposed only after a finding of scienter.
Hudson v. United States,
supra,
Regarding the defendant's transfer to Northern, which the defendant emphasized on appeal, courts in other jurisdictions consistently have held that the disciplinary transfer of an inmate is not a criminal punishment that implicates the double jeopardy clause. See, e.g.,
United States v. Colon,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Connecticut v. James BAKER.
- Cited By
- 13 cases
- Status
- Published