State v. Burney

• Decision Date: 22 February 1983
• Citation: 455 A.2d 1335,189 Conn. 321
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Willie BURNEY.
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

Page 1335

455 A.2d 1335

189 Conn. 321

STATE of Connecticut v. Willie BURNEY.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued Nov. 9, 1982.

Decided Feb. 22, 1983.

Frank S. Meadow and Earl I. Williams, New Haven, for appellant (defendant).

Robert J. Devlin, Jr., Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, was Arnold Markle, State's Atty., for appellee (state).

Before SPEZIALE, C.J., and PETERS, PARSKEY, SHEA and GRILLO, JJ. SPEZIALE, Chief Justice.

The defendant was charged with sexual assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-71(a)(3), ¹ and with incest, in violation of General Statutes § 53a-191(a). ² Tried before a jury in November, 1980, the defendant was acquitted of the crime of incest but found guilty of sexual assault in the second degree. The defendant appeals from the judgment rendered following that conviction, claiming, inter alia, that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for acquittal because the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was "responsible for the general supervision" of the complainant, an essential element of the crime of sexual assault in the second degree as charged. ³

The jury could have reasonably found the following: On May 27, 1978, at approximately 11:30 p.m., the complainant, a sixteen year old girl, left Hartford with the defendant, Willie Burney, for a trip to New York City. The defendant drove the car as far as New Haven and obtained a room at a motel at approximately 1 a.m. on May 28, 1982. Once in the room, the defendant told the complainant to sleep without clothes. The defendant got into the same bed with her even though there was another bed in the room. The defendant and the complainant stayed at the hotel for the duration of the night. In the morning, the defendant had sexual intercourse with the complainant.

The two continued their trip to New York City that morning, but finding the stores closed there, they returned to the defendant's home in Hartford, arriving at approximately 3:30 p.m. The complainant received a message there that her mother had telephoned for her to return home. She walked home, awakened her mother, and informed her of the incident in New Haven. The complainant's mother took her daughter to the Hartford police department at approximately 9:10 p.m. to file a complaint against the defendant, and then to Hartford Hospital for an examination. On June 1, 1978, the complainant's mother and the complainant reported the incident to the New Haven police department upon advice of the Hartford police.

The complainant had been staying at the home of the defendant and his family for approximately one and one-half months before the incident. The mother testified at trial that the defendant was the complainant's father, but that her birth certificate indicated Samuel Meyers as the father. Samuel Meyers was married to the complainant's mother at the time of her birth. Sometime after the complainant's birth, the complainant's mother separated from Samuel Meyers and lived with the defendant, Willie Burney. Although they no longer lived together, the complainant's mother continued to see the defendant up to the date of the complaint. The complainant's mother testified that the defendant treated the complainant as his daughter, buying her presents and providing for her needs.

The defendant's claim is that the state failed to meet its burden of proof in this case because it failed to prove that, at the time of the incident, the defendant was "responsible for the general supervision" of the complainant's welfare, an essential element of the crime of sexual assault in the second degree under General Statutes § 53a-71(a)(3). We agree, and hold that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal.

"Our decision on this issue is premised on a fundamental principle of our law. The burden in a criminal case is placed squarely upon the prosecution to prove each essential element of the alleged crime beyond a reasonable doubt. There is no burden on the defendant to prove his innocence. State v. Beauton, 170 Conn. 234, 240, 365 A.2d 1105 (1976); State v. Brown, 163 Conn. 52, 64, 301 A.2d 547 (1972); State v. Benson, 153 Conn. 209, 215, 214 A.2d 903 (1965). See Mullaney v. Wilbur, 421 U.S. 684, [701-704], 95 S.Ct. 1881 [1890-1892] 44 L.Ed.2d 508 (1975); In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068 [1072] 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970); Davis v. United States, 160 U.S. 469, 487, 16 S.Ct. 353 40 L.Ed. 499 (1895)." State v. Anonymous, 179 Conn. 516, 519, 427 A.2d 403 (1980). See State v. Kurvin, 186 Conn. 555, 573, 442 A.2d 1327 (1982) (Speziale, C.J., dissenting). If the state fails to prove any element beyond a reasonable doubt, it has failed in its burden of proof. State v. McDonough, 129 Conn. 483, 484, 29 A.2d 582 (1942); State v. Newman, 127 Conn. 398, 400, 17 A.2d 774 (1940).

The resolution of the issue before us turns upon our interpretation of General Statutes § 53a-71(a)(3). General Statutes § 53a-71 provides, in relevant part: "(a) A person is guilty of sexual assault in the second degree when such person engages in sexual intercourse with another person and such other person is (1) under fifteen years of age, or (2) mentally defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, or (3) less than eighteen years old and the actor is such person's guardian or otherwise responsible for the general supervision of such person's welfare, or (4) such other person is in custody of law or detained in a hospital or other institution and the actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over such other person." The defendant was charged specifically with violation of subsection (a)(3) which speaks in terms of a person who is responsible for the general supervision of the welfare of a person between the ages of fifteen and seventeen. The statute does not prescribe how such responsibility attaches or what the words "responsible for" and "general supervision" encompass. Nor is an explanation to be found in the legislative history of the statute.

"When confronted with ambiguity in the intent and purpose of a legislative enactment, it becomes necessary to apply the rules of statutory construction to ascertain the actual intention expressed by the language used." Farms Country Club, Inc. v. Carini, 172 Conn. 439, 443, 374 A.2d 1094 (1977). An important rule of statutory construction is that the words of a statute are to be interpreted by their commonly accepted meaning unless their context indicates a different meaning was intended. Holmquist v. Manson, 168 Conn. 389, 393, 362 A.2d 971 (1975); Whitfield v. Empire Mutual Ins. Co., 167 Conn. 499, 505, 356 A.2d 139 (1975). "In the construction of the statutes, words and phrases shall be construed according to the commonly approved usage of the language." General Statutes § 1-1(a). The word "responsibility" denotes accountability, and the word "supervision" denotes broad authority to oversee with the powers of direction and decision. See American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1969); Webster's Third New International Dictionary (1968). While it is clear that a judicial decree is not necessary in order to become responsible for the general supervision of a minor under § 53a-71(a)(3), neither is the mere assumption by a third person of the temporary care of a minor enough to bring that third party within the class of persons to whom the statute applies.

Another rule of statutory construction is that a statute should be construed as a whole where particular words or sections of the statute, considered separately, are lacking in precision of meaning. Mitchell v. King, 169 Conn. 140, 144, 363 A.2d 68 (1975). "The construction of a statute depends upon its expressed intent when it is taken as a whole." Dombrowski v. Fafnir Bearing Co., 148 Conn. 87, 90, 167 A.2d 458 (1961). The subsections immediately preceding and following § 53a-71(a)(3) show that the legislature was seeking to protect people who were helpless and vulnerable to sexual assault as a result of their age, their mental or physical incapacities, or as a consequence of their restricted physical freedom while in custody of law or detained in a hospital or other institution. Construing the words "responsible for the general supervision of such person's welfare" in subsection (a)(3) to require something more than the performance of acts of a paternal nature by a third person out of concern for the comfort, health or welfare of the child, would be consistent with the legislative intent to protect the helpless suggested by subsection (a)(2) and (a)(4). In addition, the proximity of the words "or otherwise responsible for" to the word "guardian" indicates that the legislature intended the categories to be roughly equivalent, with the obligations and degree of control of the actor over the child which are implied by the phrase "or otherwise responsible for the general supervision of such person's welfare" to be similar to those of legal guardianship. This interpretation is supported by the principle that when two or more words which are grouped together have similar meanings but are not equally comprehensive, the general word is qualified by the special word. Levin-Townsend Computer Corporation v. Hartford, 166 Conn. 405, 410, 349 A.2d 853 (1974).

Another relevant principle of statutory construction is that " '[n]o word in a statute should be treated as superfluous, void or insignificant unless there are impelling reasons ... why this principle cannot be followed.' General Motors Corporation v. Mulquin, 134 Conn. 118, 126, 55 A.2d 732 (1947)." Levin-Townsend Computer Corporation v. Hartford, supra, 409, 349 A.2d 853; State v. Grant, 176 Conn. 17, 20, 404 A.2d 873 (1978); Kulis v. Moll, 172 Conn. 104, 111, 374 A.2d 133 (1976). Had the legislature intended that any small degree of supervision demonstrated by a person would meet the criteria of § 53a-71...