Subsec. (c):
Process for selecting and dismissing alternate jurors, including under this subsec., does not implicate constitutional
rights. 272 C. 432.
Sec. 54-82r. Protective order prohibiting harassment of witness. (a) Upon application of a prosecutorial official, a court may issue a protective order prohibiting the
harassment of a witness in a criminal case if the court, after a hearing at which hearsay
evidence shall be admissible, finds by a preponderance of the evidence that harassment
of an identified witness in a criminal case exists or that such order is necessary to prevent
and restrain the commission of a violation of section 53a-151 or 53a-151a. Any adverse
party named in the complaint has the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at such hearing. Such order shall be an order of the court, and the clerk of the
court shall cause a certified copy of such order to be sent to the witness, and a copy of
such order, or the information contained in such order, to be sent by facsimile or other
means within forty-eight hours of its issuance to the appropriate law enforcement
agency.
(b) A protective order shall set forth the reasons for the issuance of such order, be
specific in terms and describe in reasonable detail, and not by reference to the complaint
or other document, the act or acts being restrained. A protective order issued under this
section may include provisions necessary to protect the witness from threats, harassment, injury or intimidation by the adverse party including, but not limited to, enjoining
the adverse party from (1) imposing any restraint upon the person or liberty of the
witness, (2) threatening, harassing, assaulting, molesting or sexually assaulting the witness, or (3) entering the dwelling of the witness. Such order shall contain the following
language: "In accordance with section 53a-223 of the Connecticut general statutes, any
violation of this order constitutes criminal violation of a protective order which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than five years, a fine of not more than
five thousand dollars, or both. Additionally, in accordance with section 53a-107 of the
Connecticut general statutes, entering or remaining in a building or any other premises
in violation of this order constitutes criminal trespass in the first degree which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than one year, a fine of not more than two
thousand dollars, or both." If the adverse party is the defendant in the criminal case,
such order shall be made a condition of the bail or release of the defendant and shall
also contain the following language: "Violation of this order also violates a condition
of your bail or release and may result in raising the amount of bail or revoking release."
(c) The protective order shall remain in effect for the duration of the criminal case
except as otherwise ordered by the court.
(P.A. 99-240, S. 3; P.A. 02-132, S. 58; P.A. 05-288, S. 186.)
History: P.A. 02-132 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing provisions re sending certified copy of order to law enforcement
agency with provisions re sending copy of or information contained in order to law enforcement agency by facsimile or
other means, effective January 1, 2003; P.A. 05-288 amended Subsec. (b) by making technical changes and revising
required language in order re penalty for criminal violation of a protective order, effective July 13, 2005.
Sec. 54-84. Testimony or silence of accused.
Prosecutor's statement that sexual assault cases are often decided on credibility of victim or defendant was not an
improper comment on defendant's failure to testify. 86 CA 641.
Sec. 54-86f. Admissibility of evidence of sexual conduct.
Court did not improperly exclude evidence concerning victim's prior sexual conduct because court found that such
evidence was not credible and therefore not relevant. 85 CA 575.
PART II
SENTENCING AND APPEAL
Sec. 54-94a. Conditional nolo contendere plea. Appeal of denial of motion to
suppress or dismiss.
Statutory requirement that court make a determination that the ruling on a motion to suppress or dismiss would be
dispositive of the case is a matter of substance necessary to achieve goals of statute and therefore is mandatory. 87 CA 122.
Sec. 54-95. Appeal by defendant in criminal prosecution; stay of execution.
Denial of petition for certification made pursuant to section is not a bar to this court's jurisdiction, but is a threshold
issue on appeal. 88 CA 572.
Sec. 54-96. Appeals by the state from Superior Court in criminal cases.
In denying state permission to appeal, trial court misconstrued the law of unanimity in context of a capital felony penalty
hearing and, by doing so, improperly concluded that jury reached a lawful verdict. 271 C. 338.
PART III
PROBATION, PAROLE AND PARDON
Sec. 54-124a. Board of Pardons and Paroles. (a) There shall be a Board of Pardons and Paroles within the Department of Correction, for administrative purposes only.
On and after October 1, 2004, the board shall consist of thirteen members appointed by
the Governor with the advice and consent of either house of the General Assembly. In
the appointment of the members, the Governor shall endeavor to reflect the racial diversity of the state. The Governor shall appoint a chairperson from among the membership.
The chairperson of the board shall be qualified by education, experience and training
in the administration of community corrections, parole or pardons.
(b) The term of each appointed member of the board serving on September 30,
2004, shall expire on said date. The term of each member of the board beginning on or
after October 1, 2004, shall be coterminous with the term of the Governor or until a
successor is chosen, whichever is later. Any vacancy in the membership of the board
shall be filled for the unexpired portion of the term by the Governor.
(c) The chairperson shall devote full time to the performance of the duties under
this section and shall be compensated therefor in such amount as the Commissioner of
Administrative Services determines, subject to the provisions of section 4-40. The other
members of said board shall receive one hundred ten dollars for each day spent in the
performance of their duties and shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in
the performance of such duties. The chairperson or, in the chairperson's absence or
inability to act, a member designated by the chairperson to serve temporarily as chairperson, shall be present at all meetings of said board and participate in all decisions thereof.
(d) The chairperson shall be the executive and administrative head of said board
and shall have the authority and responsibility for (1) overseeing all administrative
affairs of the board, (2) adopting policies in all areas of pardons and paroles including,
but not limited to, granting pardons, commutations of punishments or releases, conditioned or absolute, in the case of any person convicted of any offense against the state
and commutations from the penalty of death, risk-based structured decision making
and release criteria, (3) consulting with the Department of Correction on shared issues
including, but not limited to, prison overcrowding, (4) consulting with the Judicial Department on shared issues of community supervision, and (5) signing and issuing subpoenas to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses at parole proceedings. Any
such subpoena shall be enforceable to the same extent as subpoenas issued pursuant to
section 52-143.
(e) The chairperson may serve on both pardons panels and parole release panels
and shall have the authority and responsibility for assigning members to such panels.
The chairperson shall assign seven members exclusively to parole release hearings and
shall assign five members exclusively to pardons hearings. Except for the chairperson,
no member assigned to parole release hearings may be assigned subsequently to pardons
hearings and no member assigned to pardons hearings may be assigned subsequently
to parole release hearings. Each parole release panel shall be composed of two members
and the chairperson or a member designated to serve temporarily as chairperson, for
each correctional institution. Such parole release panels shall be the paroling authority
for the institutions to which they are assigned and not less than two members shall be
present at each parole hearing. Each pardons panel shall be composed of three members,
one of whom may be the chairperson, except that for hearings on commutations from
the penalty of death, one member of the panel shall be the chairperson.
(f) The Board of Pardons and Paroles shall have independent decision-making authority to (1) grant or deny parole in accordance with sections 54-125, 54-125a, 54-125e and 54-125g, (2) establish conditions of parole or special parole supervision in
accordance with section 54-126, (3) rescind or revoke parole or special parole in accordance with sections 54-127 and 54-128, (4) grant commutations of punishment or releases, conditioned or absolute, in the case of any person convicted of any offense against
the state and commutations from the penalty of death in accordance with section 54-130a.
(g) The Department of Correction shall be responsible for the supervision of any
person transferred to the jurisdiction of the Board of Pardons and Paroles during such
person's period of parole or special parole.
(h) The chairperson, or the chairperson's designee, and two members of the board
shall conduct all parole release hearings and shall approve or deny all parole releases
recommended by an employee of the board pursuant to section 54-125b, and all parole
revocations and parole rescissions recommended by an employee of the board pursuant
to section 54-127a.
(i) The chairperson of the board shall appoint an executive director. The executive
director shall oversee the administration of the agency and, at the discretion of the
chairperson, shall: (1) Direct and supervise all administrative affairs of the board, (2)
prepare the budget and annual operation plan, (3) assign staff to administrative reviews,
(4) organize pardons and parole release hearing calendars, (5) implement a uniform
case filing and processing system, and (6) create programs for staff and board member
development, training and education.
(j) The chairperson, in consultation with the executive director, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, concerning:
(1) Parole revocation and rescission hearings that include implementing due process
requirements;
(2) An administrative pardons process that allows an applicant convicted of a crime
to be granted a pardon with respect to such crime without a hearing, unless a victim of
such crime requests such a hearing, if such applicant was:
(A) Convicted of a misdemeanor and (i) such conduct no longer constitutes a crime,
(ii) such applicant was under twenty-one years of age at the time of conviction and has
not been convicted of a crime during the five years preceding the date on which the
pardon is granted, or (iii) such conviction occurred prior to the effective date of the
establishment of a program under sections 17a-692 to 17a-701, inclusive, section 46b-38c, 53a-39a, 53a-39c, 54-56e, 54-56g, 54-56i or 54-56j for which the applicant would
have been eligible had such program existed at the time of conviction, provided the
chairperson determines the applicant would likely have been granted entry into such
program; or
(B) Convicted of a violation of section 21a-277, 21a-278 or 21a-279 and such applicant has not been convicted of a crime during the five years preceding the date on which
the pardon is granted, provided such date is at least ten years after the date of such
conviction or such applicant's release from incarceration, whichever is later; and
(3) Requiring board members assigned to pardons hearings to issue written statements containing the reasons for rejecting any application for a pardon.
(k) The Board of Pardons and Paroles shall hold a pardons hearing at least once
every three months and shall hold such hearings in various geographical areas of the
state. The board shall not hold a pardons hearing within or on the grounds of a correctional facility except when solely for the benefit of applicants who are incarcerated at
the time of such hearing.
(l) The chairperson and executive director shall establish:
(1) In consultation with the Department of Correction, a parole orientation program
for all parole-eligible inmates upon their transfer to the custody of the Commissioner
of Correction that will provide general information on the laws and policies regarding
parole release, calculation of time-served standards, general conditions of release, supervision practices, revocation and rescission policies, and procedures for administrative
review and panel hearings, and any other information that the board deems relevant for
preparing inmates for parole; and
(2) An incremental sanctions system for parole violations including, but not limited
to, reincarceration based on the type, severity and frequency of the violation and specific
periods of incarceration for certain types of violations.
(m) In the event of the temporary inability of any member other than the chairperson
to perform his or her duties, the Governor, at the request of the board, may appoint a
qualified person to serve as a temporary member during such period of inability.
(n) The chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall: (1) Adopt an annual
budget and plan of operation, (2) adopt such rules as deemed necessary for the internal
affairs of the board, and (3) submit an annual report to the Governor and General Assembly.
(1967, P.A. 152, S. 48; 1969, P.A. 537, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 230; 1972, P.A. 23, S. 1; P.A. 74-338, S. 57, 94; P.A. 77-614,
S. 134, 610; P.A. 79-560, S. 32, 39; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-18; P.A. 93-219, S. 3, 14; P.A. 94-183, S. 1, 3; May 25 Sp.
Sess. P.A. 94-1, S. 64, 130; P.A. 95-189, S. 1, 2; P.A. 98-234, S. 1, 5; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 161; P.A. 04-234,
S. 1; P.A. 05-84, S. 1, 2; 05-288, S. 187.)
History: 1969 act specified that board of parole is autonomous body within department of correction solely for fiscal
and budgetary purposes, increased membership from seven to nine and provided for their appointment, updated previous
appointment provisions to provide ongoing applicability, deleted provision requiring three members for quorum and added
provisions re assignment of members to panels and duties of panels; 1971 act deleted obsolete provision re appointment
of additional members enacted in 1969 and added provision re appointment of temporary members; 1972 act increased
membership to eleven and provided for their appointment; P.A. 74-338 deleted obsolete provision re initial appointment
of additional members provided for in 1972 act; P.A. 77-614 provided for compensation of chairman as determined by
commissioner of administrative services rather than by personnel policy board; P.A. 79-560 specified that board is within
department of correction for "administrative" rather than for "fiscal and budgetary" purposes; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-18
increased the per diem compensation of members from seventy-five to one hundred ten dollars; P.A. 93-219 inserted
Subsec. indicators, amended Subsec. (a) to increase the number of members on and after July 1, 1994, from eleven to
thirteen, require the chairman to be qualified by training, experience or education in law, criminal justice, parole matters
or other related fields and require the governor to endeavor to reflect the racial diversity of the state when making appointments, added a new Subsec. (b) to require the term of the chairman to be coterminous with that of the governor, provide
that the terms of all other members expire on July 1, 1994, that on and after said date six members shall be appointed for
two years and six members appointed for four years and that thereafter all members shall serve for terms of four years and
require the governor to fill any vacancy, amended Subsec. (d) to set forth the powers and duties of the chairman and added
a new Subsec. (g) to set forth the duties of the board, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 94-183 and May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1
both amended Subsec. (a) to delete provision that the board of parole "shall be an autonomous body and within the
department of correction for administrative purposes only", effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-189 amended Subsec. (d) to
add a new Subdiv. (10) re noninstitutional, community-based service programs, renumbering former Subdiv. (10) as
Subdiv. (11), effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 98-234 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the number of members on and after July
1, 1998 from thirteen to fifteen, provide for the appointment of two vice-chairmen and make the provision re qualifications of
the chairman also applicable to the vice-chairmen, amended Subsec. (b) to provide that the term of each vice-chairman shall
be the same as that of the chairman, amended Subsec. (c) to make provision re performance of duties by and compensation of
the chairman also applicable to the vice-chairmen, and amended Subsec. (d) to add Subdiv. (12) authorizing the signing
and issuing of subpoenas and add provision that any such subpoena shall be enforceable to the same extent as subpoenas
issued under Sec. 52-143, effective July 1, 1998; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to place board "within
the Department of Correction" and delete an obsolete date, amended Subsec. (c) to delete requirement that the vice-chairmen
devote their entire time to the performance of their duties and replace "entire time" with "full time" and amended Subsec.
(d) to delete provision that designated the chairman as the executive and administrative head of the board, designate the
Commissioner of Correction rather than the chairman as the person having the authority and responsibility for the duties
set forth in said Subsec., delete former Subdiv. (11) re consulting with the Department of Correction on shared issues
including, but not limited to, prison overcrowding, and redesignate existing Subdiv. (12) as new Subdiv. (11), effective
August 20, 2003; P.A. 04-234 amended Subsec. (a) to rename "Board of Parole" as "Board of Pardons and Paroles",
provide that board is within Department of Correction "for administrative purposes only", provide that on and after October
1, 2004, board shall consist of thirteen rather than fifteen members, require that all thirteen members, rather than only
chairman and two vice-chairmen, be appointed by the Governor with advice and consent of either house of the General
Assembly, provide that chairperson shall be qualified by education, experience and training "in the administration of
community corrections, parole or pardons" rather than "in law, criminal justice, parole matters or other related fields",
delete provision re qualifications of vice-chairmen and other members and add provision requiring the Governor to appoint
chairperson from among membership, amended Subsec. (b) to add provision that term of each appointed member of board
serving on September 30, 2004, shall expire on that date, provide that term of each member of board beginning on or after
October 1, 2004, rather than only term of chairman and each vice-chairman, shall be coterminous with term of the Governor,
and delete provision re appointment on or after July 1, 1994, of members other than chairman for staggered terms, amended
Subsec. (c) to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (d) to designate chairperson rather than Commissioner of Correction as person having authority and responsibility for duties set forth in said Subsec., provide that chairperson shall be
executive and administrative head of the board, replace in Subdiv. (1) "directing and supervising" with "overseeing",
delete former Subdivs. (2) to (5), inclusive, to reflect transfer of duties to executive director under new Subsec. (i)(2) to
(5), redesignate existing Subdiv. (6) as new Subdiv. (2) and amend said Subdiv. to replace "establishing policy in all areas
of parole including, but not limited to, decision making, release criteria and supervision standards" with "adopting policies
in all areas of pardons and paroles including, but not limited to, granting pardons, commutations of punishments or releases,
conditioned or absolute, in the case of any person convicted of any offense against the state and commutations from the
penalty of death, risk-based structured decision-making and release criteria", delete former Subdiv. (7) re establishing
specialized parole units, delete former Subdiv. (8) re entering into contracts with service providers, community programs
and consultants, delete former Subdiv. (9) to reflect transfer of duty to executive director under new Subsec. (i)(6), delete
former Subdiv. (10) re establishing, developing and maintaining noninstitutional, community-based service programs,
add new Subdiv. (3) re consulting with Department of Correction on shared issues including, but not limited to, prison
overcrowding, add new Subdiv. (4) re consulting with Judicial Department on shared issues of community supervision,
and redesignate existing Subdiv. (11) re subpoenas as new Subdiv. (5), amended Subsec. (e) to authorize chairperson to
serve on both pardons panels and parole release panels, require chairperson to assign seven members exclusively to parole
release hearings and five members exclusively to pardons hearings, prohibit member assigned to one type of hearing to
be subsequently assigned to other type of hearing, add provision re composition of each pardons panel and make technical
changes, added new Subsec. (f) re independent decision-making authority of the board, added new Subsec. (g) re responsibility of Department of Correction for supervision of persons on parole or special parole, added new Subsec. (h) re conduct
of parole release hearings and approval or denial of all parole releases, revocations and rescissions recommended by
employee of board, added new Subsec. (i) re appointment and powers of executive director, added new Subsec. (j) re
adoption of regulations re parole revocation and rescission hearings, an administrative pardons process and requiring
written statement re reasons for rejecting pardons application, added new Subsec. (k) re frequency and location of pardons
hearings, added new Subsec. (l) re establishment of parole orientation program and incremental sanctions system for parole
violations, redesignated existing Subsec. (f) as Subsec. (m) and amended said Subsec. to make a technical change, and
redesignated existing Subsec. (g) as Subsec. (n) and amended said Subsec. to replace "The Board of Parole" with "The
chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles" and replace in Subdiv. (3) "develop policy for and administer the
operation" of the Interstate Parole Compact with "adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, for the administration"
of said compact, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-84 amended Subsec. (j)(2)(A)(ii) to reduce from ten years to five years
the period of time prior to the granting of the pardon during which the applicant must not have been convicted of a crime,
amended Subsec. (j)(2)(B) to increase from five years to ten years the period of time after the date of conviction or the
applicant's release from incarceration, whichever is later, that must elapse prior to the granting of the pardon and amended
Subsec. (n) to delete former Subdiv. (3) re the adoption of regulations for the administration of the Interstate Parole Compact
and redesignate existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (3); P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (f)(4), effective July
13, 2005.
Sec. 54-125e. Special parole. Violation of conditions. Hearing. Disposition. (a)
Any person convicted of a crime committed on or after October 1, 1998, who received
a definite sentence of more than two years followed by a period of special parole shall,
at the expiration of the maximum term or terms of imprisonment imposed by the court,
be automatically transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson of the Board of Pardons
and Paroles or, if such person has previously been released on parole pursuant to subsection (a) of section 54-125a or section 54-131a, remain under the jurisdiction of said
chairperson until the expiration of the period of special parole imposed by the court.
The Department of Correction shall be responsible for the supervision of any person
transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles
under this section during such person's period of special parole.
(b) Any person sentenced to a period of special parole shall be subject to such
rules and conditions as may be established by the Board of Pardons and Paroles or its
chairperson pursuant to section 54-126.
(c) The period of special parole shall be not less than one year or more than ten
years, except that such period may be for more than ten years for a person convicted of
a violation of subdivision (2) of section 53-21 of the general statutes in effect prior to
October 1, 2000, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-70,
53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b or sentenced as a persistent dangerous
felony offender pursuant to subsection (h) of section 53a-40 or as a persistent serious
felony offender pursuant to subsection (j) of section 53a-40.
(d) Whenever a parolee has, in the judgment of such parolee's parole officer, violated the conditions of his or her special parole, the board shall cause the parolee to be
brought before it without unnecessary delay for a hearing on the violation charges. At
such hearing, the parolee shall be informed of the manner in which such parolee is
alleged to have violated the conditions of such parolee's special parole and shall be
advised by the employee of the board conducting the hearing of such parolee's due
process rights.
(e) If such violation is established, the board may: (1) Continue the period of special
parole; (2) modify or enlarge the conditions of special parole; or (3) revoke the sentence
of special parole.
(f) If the board revokes special parole for a parolee, the chairperson may issue a
mittimus for the commitment of such parolee to a correctional institution for any period
not to exceed the unexpired portion of the period of special parole.
(g) Whenever special parole has been revoked for a parolee, the board may, at any
time during the unexpired portion of the period of special parole, allow the parolee to
be released again on special parole without court order.
(P.A. 98-234, S. 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 52; P.A. 01-84, S. 21, 26; P.A. 04-234, S. 2, 5; P.A. 05-84, S. 3; 05-288, S. 188.)
History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the period of special parole for the specified
offenses "may be for more than ten years" rather than "shall be not less than ten years nor more than thirty-five years" and
to make technical changes in statutory references; P.A. 01-84 amended Subsec. (c) to replace reference to "a violation of
subdivision (2) of section 53-21" with "a violation of subdivision (2) of section 53-21 of the general statutes in effect prior
to October 1, 2000," and include a violation of "subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21", effective July 1, 2001;
P.A. 04-234 replaced "chairman" with "chairperson" where appearing, amended Subsec. (a) to require the person be
"automatically" transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson, delete provision that the person is transferred "from the
custody of the Commissioner of Correction" and add provision requiring that Department of Correction be responsible
for supervision of any person transferred to the jurisdiction of the chairperson during such person's period of special parole,
added Subsec. (d) re a hearing on an alleged violation of the conditions of a parolee's special parole, added Subsec. (e) re
authorized dispositions by the board upon establishing a violation, added Subsec. (f) re authority of the chairperson to
issue a mittimus upon revocation of special parole and added Subsec. (g) re authority of the board to release again on
special parole a parolee whose special parole has been revoked, effective June 8, 2004, and replaced Board of Parole with
Board of Pardons and Paroles, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 05-84 amended Subsec. (e)(1) to replace "sentence of special
parole" with "period of special parole"; P.A. 05-288 made technical changes in Subsec. (c), effective July 13, 2005.