State v. Butler

348 Conn. 51

300 A.3d 1145

STATE of Connecticut v. Carlton BUTLER

SC 20702

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued February 23, 2023

Officially Released September 19, 2023

Rocco A. Chiarenza, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Margaret E. Kelley, state's attorney, Rebecca A. Barry, supervisory assistant state's attorney, and Mary A. SanAngelo, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellant (state).

Emily H. Wagner, assistant public defender, for the appellee (defendant).

Robinson, C. J., and McDonald, D'Auria, Mullins and Moll, Js.

McDONALD, J.

This certified appeal requires us to decide, as a matter of first impression, whether a criminal court has inherent common-law jurisdiction to open a judgment of dismissal following the defendant's completion of a supervised diversionary program within four months of the date it was rendered. We are also asked to decide whether the trial court has the authority to open the same judgment of dismissal if that judgment was the result of purported misrepresentations to the court. We conclude that criminal courts do not have jurisdiction to open a judgment following a dismissal. We also decline to reach the second certified question because the trial court made no findings of misrepresentations in the present case.

The defendant, Carlton Butler, was arrested in 2017 on charges of risk of injury to a child and breach of the peace in the second degree. The charges arose from an incident at a McDonald's restaurant in Derby involving inappropriate conduct between the defendant and a twelve year old child. In August, 2017, the defendant filed an application to participate in a supervised diversionary program for individuals with psychiatric disabilities. The trial court canvassed the defendant on the conditions imposed on him while participating in the diversionary program, which included that he have no contact with minors, including in a volunteer or work capacity, and that he not go to any areas frequented by minors. The defendant indicated that he was willing to abide by all of the conditions. The court subsequently granted the application.

In the early stages of the two year supervised diversionary program, the defendant struggled with the program's mental health and counseling requirements, which became the subject of several court hearings. Due to the defendant's failure to regularly attend the court-mandated counseling sessions, the defendant was enrolled in an alternative program with the Sterling Center, which the trial court described as more rigorous than the initially designated program. In June, 2019, the court indicated that it received a report noting that the defendant successfully completed his sessions at the Sterling Center. The court congratulated the defendant on his success and the "great letter" it received, and continued the case to October 2, 2019, for possible dismissal under General Statutes § 54-56l (i), which provides for the dismissal of pending charges following the successful completion of a pretrial supervised diversionary program.

On September 25, 2019, the Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division issued a final progress report, which indicated that the defendant had not satisfactorily completed the assigned diversionary program. Attached to the report was a letter from the defendant's probation officer. The attached letter stated that the probation officer received information from an anonymous source that, in August, 2019, the defendant volunteered for a YMCA trip involving minors. The letter indicated that the Office of Adult Probation was unable to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the anonymous source. The letter further indicated that the probation officer found that the defendant was not allowed to enter the Waterbury and Torrington YMCAs due to "separate, undisclosed incidents" and that the Plainville YMCA director informed the officer that the defendant "unsuccessfully applied for three separate employment positions as a ‘camp counselor’ on [March 15, 2019]." Lastly, the letter noted that the defendant failed to report to his probation officer on September 18, 2019. There was nothing appended to the letter to substantiate these allegations.

From September 25, 2019, until the defendant's October 2, 2019 hearing, the Office of Adult Probation did not provide any further support or details regarding the information in the letter. On October 2, 2019, the trial court held a hearing to determine whether it would dismiss the charges against the defendant. The prosecutor argued that the court should not grant a dismissal because of the statements and allegations contained in the September 25 letter attached to the final progress report. In response, defense counsel argued that the allegations contained in the letter regarding volunteering at a local YMCA and submitting YMCA job applications had not been substantiated.

Defense counsel also argued that "[the defendant] does not [have] a driver's license. He does not own a car. His father drives him everywhere. His father is present here in the courtroom and is willing to come up and talk to Your Honor. Your Honor, I talked to [the defendant's] father, who stated that [the defendant] has never gone on a YMCA trip as a volunteer. He's also indicated to me that he's never—they live in Waterbury. He's also indicated to me that he's never driven [the defendant] to the Plainville YMCA to apply for a job.

"Secondly, Your Honor, the reason why [the defendant] is not allowed at the YMCAs is because, prior to this case—prior to the supervised diversionary program being granted, he was going to the YMCA. While the case was pending, he was going to the YMCA. At that point, someone notified the YMCA of his arrest. They told him he was no longer allowed back. So, I found it concerning ... that some of this information [in the September 25, 2019 letter] is very dated. Okay? And, secondly, based on his father's own representation to me, false.

"It's true, [the defendant] will admit that he did not go to his last probation meeting on September [18, 2019]. [The defendant] forgot about it. After two years, it's the one and only one he's ever missed. [The defendant] is attending Goodwin College; however, I know [the defendant] likes to tell people he's living in East Hartford, but, after speaking with his father, he still lives at home with his father. His father drives him to Goodwin College. I know, in chambers, Your Honor, I had indicated that [the defendant] did apply for an adult counselor position, but that was through Easterseals; that was not through the YMCA. So, we don't even know if this YMCA application is [the defendant] himself. [The defendant's] father would probably tell Your Honor, because he's told me, that he's never driven [the defendant] to the Plainville YMCA. To [the father's] knowledge, [the defendant] has never applied to ... the YMCA for anything. He's never, to his knowledge, ever went on a trip with minors. [The defendant's] only mode of transportation is through his father. He's never taken his father's car without permission. [The defendant] doesn't own a car. He doesn't have a driver's license. ... Your Honor, so, essentially, the only thing that is a fact and is true is that [the defendant] missed his last probation meeting on [September 18, 2019]; however, the probation officer left a card for [the defendant] to go on [October 1, 2019]. ...

"I think, up to [this] point, Your Honor, [the defendant] has fulfilled everything on the supervised diversionary program. He paid for the Sterling Center out of pocket. He's on disability. It was a financial hardship for him and his father. The allegations of [his] going to the YMCA during the pendency of [his] being [in] the supervised diversionary program is unfounded ... and refuted by the only person he can get a ride from. For those reasons, Your Honor, I think [the defendant] should have a successful dismissal on this program."

After hearing arguments from both parties, the trial court proceeded to articulate its ruling dismissing the charges against the defendant: "[W]hat the court has before it is an individual who missed his last appointment, and the fact that this case has been pending since [June, 2017], with no arrests certainly speaks in the defendant's behalf. I certainly understand the state's concern with [regard] to the defendant working as a camp counselor, but I am concerned [with] the fact that this was an anonymous tip that was not looked into by the Office of Adult Probation, other than just to receive it without making phone calls. It doesn't appear as though any of it is, in fact, true. The defendant had numerous appointments during the way, he had his bumps along the way and ended up making those. You know, it's something that he applied for back on [October 2, 2017], with the understanding that, if he did what he was supposed to do, [the case] would be dismissed. He did what he was supposed to do. The case is therefore dismissed."

The next day, the state filed a motion to open the judgment of dismissal, claiming that information had come to the state's attention following the judgment of dismissal that demonstrated that the defendant did not successfully complete the supervised diversionary program. It argued that the trial court relied on representations made by defense counsel that had proven to be false. The state also asserted that there was footage of the defendant working at a summer camp in Massachusetts that was taken during the summer of 2019. The state indicated that the Office of Adult Probation would provide a more detailed report as to the noncompliance. As to the trial court's authority to open the case, the state argued that the court had jurisdiction under State v. Johnson , 301 Conn. 630, 643, 26 A.3d 59 (2011), Tyson v. Commissioner of Correction , 155 Conn. App. 96, 105, 109 A.3d 510, cert. denied, 315 Conn. 931, 110 A.3d 432 ...