State Of Conn. v. Cyrus.

• Decision Date: 17 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 18326.,18326.
• Citation: 297 Conn. 829,1 A.3d 59
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Gregory CYRUS.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

297 Conn. 829

1 A.3d 59

STATE of Connecticut

v.Gregory CYRUS.

No. 18326.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued March 24, 2010.

Decided Aug. 17, 2010.

Timothy J. Sugrue, assistant state's attorney, with whom were Vincent J. Dooley, senior assistant state's attorney, and, on the brief, Patricia M. Froehlich, state's attorney, for the appellant (state).

Ernest Green, Jr., assistant public defender, with whom was Martin Zeldis, chief of legal services, for the appellee (defendant).

ROGERS, C.J., and NORCOTT, KATZ, PALMER, VERTEFEUILLE, ZARELLA and McLACHLAN, Js. ^*

KATZ, J.

In this certified appeal, ¹ the state appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court affirming the judgment of the trial court dismissing the charges against the defendant, Gregory Cyrus, for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2005) § 14-227a, operating a motor vehicle without carrying an operator's license in violation of General Statutes § 14-213, and operating a motor vehicle with an obstructed view in violation of General Statutes § 14-99f(c). ² State v. Cyrus, 111 Conn.App. 482, 484, 959 A.2d 1054 (2008). On appeal to this court, the state claims that the Appellate Court improperly upheld the trial court's conclusion that the state trooper who had arrested the defendant lacked a reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop the defendant to investigate a possible violation of § 14-99f(c), in contravention of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). We disagree with the state and, accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.

The record discloses the following undisputed facts and procedural history. On March 10, 2006, the state filed a three count information charging the defendant with the aforementioned motor vehicle offenses. The defendant pleaded not guilty and filed a motion to suppress evidence allegedly seized illegally by the police at the time of his arrest, claiming that the stop was unconstitutional because it was supported by neither probable cause nor a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, the state's principal contention was that, on the basis of two anonymous tips about an intoxicated person operating a motor vehicle that had identified the make and license plate number of a car that matched the defendant's vehicle, State Trooper David Mattioli had a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the defendant was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in violation of § 14-227a. After Mattioli offered testimony relating to those facts, the state's attorney asked Mattioli whether he had “notice[d] any violations which would give [him] cause to stop the vehicle....” Mattioli responded that he had noticed that “the vehicle was in violation of [§ 14-99f], which is [obstruction of] view,” thereafter stating several times that, prior to the stop, he had observed a chain and a cross ³ hanging from the defendant's rearview mirror. In support of its position, the state offered into evidence the item that had been hanging from the defendant's rearview mirror-a small woodlike cross (one inch wide by one and three-quarters inches long) attached to a beaded chain (one eighth of one inch wide by eight and one-half inches long). The defendant submitted as exhibits exterior photographs of his car, taken from various angles, with the cross hanging from the mirror.

In its memorandum of decision granting the defendant's motion to suppress, the trial court addressed Mattioli's testimony regarding the claimed violation of § 14-99f(c) only in connection with its resolution of the state's principal claim, finding that, despite the anonymous tips, Mattioli's personal observations of the defendant's car did not disclose anything improper about its operation. The court thus concluded that the information provided was not sufficiently reliable to justify stopping the defendant's car based on a suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The state then filed a motion to reconsider, arguing that the court had not considered Mattioli's second justifiable basis for stopping the defendant's car, namely, to investigate a violation of § 14-99f(c). The trial court summarily denied the state's motion for reconsideration.

Thereafter, the state filed a request for a finding of fact, presumably to create a record for appeal, asking the trial court to make a finding solely as to the following issue: “[W]hether [the trial court had] found the testimony of Trooper Mattioli credible when he testified that he observed the chain hanging from the rearview mirror of the defendant's vehicle prior to the investigatory stop.” In response, the trial court issued a “Supplemental Finding of Fact” setting forth the only factual findings in the record pertaining to the issue on appeal. Therein, the court found credible Mattioli's testimony that he had seen “ ‘a chain hanging approximately [eight] to [ten] inches, hanging from the rearview mirror.’ ” The court noted as significant, however, the following exchange that had occurred on cross-examination of Mattioli, wherein he was asked: “ ‘[S]ometimes in your judgment there are things hanging from rearview mirrors that do [not] obstruct the view of the driver. Is that correct?’ ” Mattioli responded: “ ‘[I]f [it's] not a busy night and I'm in a proactive mode, I try to stop as many cars as I can. If they have something hanging from the mirror, I will stop them, yes.’ ” After citing this testimony, the trial court stated the following factual and legal conclusion: “A reading of ... [§ 14-99f(c) ] makes it clear that a violation of the statute is predicated upon an object obstructing the view of the driver or distracting the driver. Trooper Mattioli's stop of the defendant was not based on a violation of the statute, but was based solely on the fact that there was something hanging from the defendant's mirror.” Accordingly, the trial court dismissed the charges against the defendant.

On appeal to the Appellate Court, the state did not contest the trial court's conclusion that the anonymous tips were an insufficient basis to justify the initial stop of the defendant. State v. Cyrus, supra, 111 Conn.App. at 485, 959 A.2d 1054. Rather, as the Appellate Court noted, “[i]n its principal brief, the state ... relied on cases in other jurisdictions that have held that even relatively small objects hanging from a rearview mirror justify the minimal intrusion engendered by a motor vehicle stop. In its reply brief, however, the state concede[d] that our statute does not proscribe ‘all items hanging from a rearview mirror’ but instead requires a showing that the item or object be hung in such a manner as to ‘interfere’ with the unobstructed view of the highway or to ‘distract the operator.’ ... In its reply brief, the state effectively agree[d] with the defendant that, on its face, § 14-99f(c) does not make the hanging of an object from a rearview mirror a per se infraction.... In light of the state's concession that § 14-99f(c) requires proof of interference with an operator's unobstructed view or the operator's distraction, the state [was] left with the difficult task of showing that the [trial] court improperly found that the state [had] failed to meet its burden of proof. It urge[d] the [Appellate Court] to conclude that, even if Mattioli improperly [had] stopped the defendant's car simply because he observed a chain or [cross] hanging from the defendant's rearview mirror, ‘[i]f the facts are sufficient to lead an officer to reasonably believe there was a violation, that will suffice, even if the officer is not certain about exactly what it takes to constitute a violation.’ ” (Citation omitted.) Id., at 488-89, 959 A.2d 1054. The Appellate Court concluded that the trial court's judgment must be affirmed because the state had failed to prove to the trial court that Mattioli held a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the statute, as properly interpreted, was being violated or was about to be violated. Id., at 490, 959 A.2d 1054.

Significantly, before reaching this conclusion, the Appellate Court had rejected as inadequately briefed the state's contention that the trial court's ultimate finding of fact-that the stop of the defendant was not based on a violation of § 14-99f(c) but on the simple fact that Mattioli had observed something hanging from the defendant's mirror-was clearly erroneous. Id., at 486-87, 959 A.2d 1054. In so doing, the Appellate Court further noted that any ambiguities in the record could not be read in the state's favor because, although the state had sought and obtained a finding regarding the credibility of Mattioli's observation of the hanging chain, “the state did not ask for a supplemental finding, and the court made none, that Mattioli credibly testified that he had seen anything attached to the rearview mirror ‘which moved back and forth’ in a distracting or obstructive manner. We cannot fill this gap in the record. Accordingly, we have no basis for faulting the trial court's factual finding that Mattioli stopped the defendant's car in accordance with his routine practice of stopping cars whenever he observed something attached to their rearview mirrors.” (Emphasis in original.) Id., at 487, 959 A.2d 1054.

On appeal to this court, the state claims that the Appellate Court improperly upheld the trial court's conclusion that Mattioli lacked a reasonable and articulable justification for stopping the defendant's car. Specifically, the state claims that the Appellate Court failed to apply the reasonable and articulable suspicion standard established by Terry to Mattioli's stop of the defendant's car, and instead improperly required the state to prove that Mattioli stopped the defendant because he had committed a violation of § 14-99f(c). ⁴ The defendant responds that the state lacked the reasonable and...