Sastrom v. Psychiatric Sec. Review Bd.

• Decision Date: 28 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 17909.,No. 17908.,17908.,17909.
• Citation: 291 Conn. 307,968 A.2d 396
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: Roy SASTROM v. PSYCHIATRIC SECURITY REVIEW BOARD. Guy Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board.

968 A.2d 396

291 Conn. 307

Roy SASTROM v. PSYCHIATRIC SECURITY REVIEW BOARD.

Guy Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board.

No. 17908.

No. 17909.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued September 17, 2008.

Decided April 28, 2009.

Richard E. Condon, Jr., assistant public defender, for the appellant in each case (plaintiff in each case).

Patrick B. Kwanashie, assistant attorney general, with whom, on the brief, were Richard Blumenthal, attorney general, and Richard J. Lynch, assistant attorney general, for the appellee in each case (defendant in each case).

ROGERS, C.J., and NORCOTT, KATZ, PALMER and VERTEFEUILLE, Js.

ROGERS, C.J.

In these certified appeals, we must determine whether the Superior Court has subject matter jurisdiction to decide the appeals brought by the plaintiffs, Roy Sastrom and Guy Levine,¹ from the declaratory rulings by the defendant, the psychiatric security review board (board), in which the board concluded that § 17a-581-44 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies² is valid because it does not conflict with General Statutes § 17a-599.³ The Appellate Court concluded that the board's rulings are not among the final decisions that may be appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act (UAPA), General Statutes § 4-166 et seq., and affirmed the judgments of the trial court dismissing the plaintiffs' administrative appeals. We reverse the judgments of the Appellate Court because we conclude that the Superior Court did have jurisdiction over the administrative appeals from the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of § 17a-581-44 of the regulations. We further conclude, however, that judgments should be rendered in favor of the board on the merits of the plaintiffs' administrative appeals because § 17a-581-44 of the regulations does not conflict with § 17a-599.

The relevant facts and procedural histories are set forth in the decisions of the Appellate Court and are not in dispute. Sastrom, the plaintiff in the first case, was committed on July 11, 1994, "to the jurisdiction of the [board] for a period of time not to exceed forty years after he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect of the charges of two counts of harassment in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-182b(a) four counts of threatening in violation of General Statutes § 53a-62(a)(2), and two counts of attempt to commit larceny in the fifth degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 and 53a-125a. [Sastrom] initially was confined at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital (Whiting), a maximum security mental health facility, but subsequently was transferred to the less restrictive setting of the Dutcher Enhanced Security Service of Connecticut Valley Hospital (Dutcher). While at Dutcher, he was moved from South 2, the enhanced treatment unit, to North 3, a community transition unit.

"On June 21, 2002, the treatment team granted [Sastrom's] request for `Level 4' privileges, which included one hour per day on the grounds without supervision. On July 4, 2002, [Sastrom] signed himself out at 9 a.m., and was declared absent without leave when he was not present one hour later. [Sastrom] had wandered to a . . . wooded area near the hospital and fallen asleep. The next morning, as he was walking back to Dutcher, several staff members reported seeing him on a road. When a state police trooper arrived, [Sastrom] hid in some bushes. After several hours, the troopers, with the aid of a police dog, located [Sastrom] and returned him to the custody of the [board].

"Following his apprehension, [Sastrom] was returned to Whiting. The [board] held a hearing on July 12 and September 20, 2002, regarding the proper placement of [Sastrom]. In a memorandum of decision dated October 28, 2002, the [board] ordered that [Sastrom] remain confined at Whiting for the purposes of care, custody and treatment under maximum security conditions.

"In a petition for a declaratory [ruling] dated March 30, 2004, [Sastrom] sought a determination of whether his confinement in maximum security was appropriate and whether § 17a-581-44 [of the regulations] was invalid in light of the specific violence requirement of § 17a-599. After a hearing, the [board] issued a decision on September 30, 2004. The [board] noted [Sastrom's] clinical progress and found that, on the basis of the hospital treatment team's recommendation, he could be treated in the less restrictive conditions at Dutcher.⁴

"The [board] concluded that [Sastrom] could not prevail with respect to his claim that § 17a-581-44 [of the regulations] was invalid because it conflicted with § 17a-599. The [board] determined that `nothing in the statute suggests that its intent is to mandate actual violence as a prerequisite for placing acquittees⁵ in maximum security settings. Rather, the statute evinces a concern that acquittees be placed in settings appropriate to the type of danger that they pose to themselves and others. Thus, far from being in conflict with the statute . . . § 17a-581-44 complements it.'" Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 100 Conn.App. 212, 214-16, 918 A.2d 902 (2007).

The plaintiff in the second case, Levine, was committed on March 6, 1992, "to the custody of the [board] for a period of time not to exceed 100 years after he was acquitted by reason of mental disease or defect of two counts of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a. [Levine] was confined at [Whiting]. . . .

"On July 18, 2004, [Levine] petitioned the [board] for a declaratory ruling pursuant to General Statutes § 4-176 and § 17a-581-58 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Specifically, [Levine] sought a ruling on whether he met the statutory standard for confinement in a maximum security setting and whether § 17a-581-44 was invalid in light of the specific violence requirement of § 17a-599. On October 1, 2004, the [board] held a hearing on the petition. On November 29, 2004, the [board] issued its declaratory ruling and found that [Levine], because he was so violent or so dangerous, could safely be treated only in the maximum security setting at Whiting." Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 100 Conn.App. 224, 225-26, 918 A.2d 900 (2007).

The board again concluded that "nothing in the statute suggests that its intent is to mandate actual violence as a prerequisite for placing acquittees in maximum security settings. Rather, the statute evinces a concern that acquittees be placed in settings appropriate to the type of danger that they pose to themselves and others. Thus, far from being in conflict with the statute . . . § 17a-581-44 complements it." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 226, 918 A.2d 900.

The plaintiffs appealed from the board's declaratory rulings to the Superior Court.⁶ The board argued that there was no statutory right to appeal from its declaratory rulings, and, therefore, the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The trial court agreed with the board and concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the decisions being appealed were not within the exclusive list of appealable orders set forth in General Statutes § 17a-597. Accordingly, it dismissed the appeals. Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 216, 918 A.2d 902; see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 227, 918 A.2d 900.

The plaintiffs appealed from the trial court's judgments of dismissal to the Appellate Court, which concluded that the UAPA does not permit "appeal[s] for every declaratory ruling, but only for those that meet the conditions of [General Statutes] § 4-183, as restricted by [General Statutes] §§ 4-186(f) and 17a-597." Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn.App. at 223, 918 A.2d 902; see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, supra, 100 Conn. App. at 227, 918 A.2d 900. We granted certification in each case to determine whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that the Superior Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' appeals from the declaratory rulings issued by the board. Sastrom v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 282 Conn. 920, 920-21, 925 A.2d 1101 (2007); see also Levine v. Psychiatric Security Review Board, 282 Conn. 921, 925 A.2d 1101 (2007).⁷ We reverse the judgments of the Appellate Court.

I

Our resolution of the certified question is guided by our well settled standard of review. "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. . . . Subject matter jurisdiction involves the authority of the court to adjudicate the type of controversy presented by the action before it. . . . [A] court lacks discretion to consider the merits of a case over which it is without jurisdiction. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Ferguson Mechanical Co. v. Dept. of Public Works, 282 Conn. 764, 770-71, 924 A.2d 846 (2007). This case raises two jurisdictional issues, which we address in turn.

A

"We have declared that [t]here is no absolute right of appeal to the courts from a decision of an administrative agency. . . . Appeals to the courts from administrative [agencies] exist only under statutory authority. . . . Appellate jurisdiction is derived from the . . . statutory provisions by which it is created . . . and can be acquired and exercised only in the manner prescribed. . . . In the absence of statutory authority, therefore, there is no right of appeal from [an agency's] decision. . . ." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Fullerton v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act, 280 Conn. 745, 760, 911 A.2d 736 (2006).

In the cases before us, we must determine whether the UAPA authorizes the Superior Court to assume jurisdiction over appeals from the board's declaratory rulings as to the validity of § 17a-581-44 of...