State v. Haight

• Decision Date: 22 August 2006
• Docket Number: No. 17435.,17435.
• Citation: 903 A.2d 217,279 Conn. 546
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Andrew C. HAIGHT.

903 A.2d 217

279 Conn. 546

STATE of Connecticut v. Andrew C. HAIGHT.

No. 17435.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued May 15, 2006.

Decided August 22, 2006.

Sarah Hanna, special deputy assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were David I. Cohen, state's attorney, and Tiffany M. Lockshier, deputy assistant state's attorney, for the appellant (state).

Brenden Leydon, with whom was Mark D. Phillips, Stamford, for the appellee (defendant).

BORDEN, NORCOTT, PALMER, VERTEFEUILLE and ZARELLA, Js.

ZARELLA, J.

The sole issue in this appeal is whether the defendant, Andrew C. Haight, "operated" a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a(a) when he was asleep in the driver's seat of his vehicle with the key inserted into the ignition. Because we conclude that this action was sufficient to constitute the operation of a motor vehicle, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.

The record reflects the following relevant facts and procedural history. Shortly after midnight on October 20, 2001, Officer Kevin J. Dowling of the New Canaan police department observed a Lexus RX 300 legally parked on Elm Street in New Canaan. The vehicle's headlights were illuminated, but the motor was not running. Dowling initially believed that the vehicle was unoccupied but, after briefly leaving the scene and then returning, Dowling discovered the defendant asleep in the driver's seat. Dowling roused the defendant and, upon opening the vehicle's door, heard a warning chime. Dowling observed the key in the ignition but did not notice its position. The defendant submitted to a series of field sobriety tests and was arrested after failing them. He subsequently submitted to breath tests, which he also failed.

The record also reflects that a key inserted into the ignition of a Lexus RX 300 can be turned to four positions: off, accessory, on and start. The key must be turned to the "start" position initially to engage the motor, and to the "on" position to continue running the motor. The headlights of the RX 300 may be illuminated regardless of whether the key is in the ignition. When the door of an RX 300 is open and the key is in the ignition in either the "off" or "accessory" position, a warning chime will sound.

The defendant thereafter was charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of § 14-227a(a). The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charge on the ground that "the arresting [officer] did not, as a matter of law, have reasonable grounds to believe [that] the defendant was committing, or had committed, a crime . . . ." Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss, concluding that "[it] [was] for the trier of [fact] . . . to determine if there was `operation'" of the motor vehicle. The defendant then entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere,¹ and the trial court rendered judgment in accordance with the plea. The defendant subsequently appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate Court.

The Appellate Court reversed the judgment of the trial court, concluding that "the state did not factually support its allegation of operation by presenting evidence that a key was in the motor vehicle's ignition, while such key was neither in the `on' nor `start' positions of the ignition, even when the motor vehicle's headlamps were illuminated." State v. Haight, 88 Conn.App. 235, 239-40, 869 A.2d 251 (2005). We granted the state's petition for certification to appeal, limited to the following issue: "Did the Appellate Court properly conclude that at the time of his arrest the defendant was not operating his motor vehicle?" State v. Haight, 273 Conn. 939, 875 A.2d 44 (2005).

The state argues that the defendant "operated" his vehicle under the definition of that term as set forth in State v. Swift, 125 Conn. 399, 6 A.2d 359 (1939).² The state argues that, because "a jury reasonably could find that . . . the defendant operated his motor vehicle when he intentionally inserted his key into the ignition and partially turned it," the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion to dismiss was proper, and that the defendant's conviction therefore should stand.

The defendant objects to the state's assertion that he partially turned the key in the ignition, an assertion that he characterizes as "conjectural . . . ." The defendant instead analogizes the facts of this case to those of State v. DeCoster, 147 Conn. 502, 162 A.2d 704 (1960), a decision that, according to the defendant, establishes "beyond question that simply having a key in the ignition is not sufficient to establish a prima facie case of operating [a motor vehicle] under the influence." As such, the defendant argues, the evidence is insufficient to establish that he was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. Because we disagree with both the defendant's interpretation of DeCoster and his claim of evidentiary insufficiency, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court.

"As a preliminary matter, we set forth the standard of review. A motion to dismiss . . . properly attacks the jurisdiction of the court, essentially asserting that the plaintiff cannot as a matter of law and fact state a cause of action that should be heard by the court. . . . A motion to dismiss tests, inter alia, whether, on the face of the record, the court is without jurisdiction. . . . [O]ur review of the trial court's ultimate legal conclusion and resulting [decision to] grant . . . the motion to dismiss will be de novo." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Welwood, 258 Conn. 425, 433, 780 A.2d 924 (2001).

The state's claim also implicates a question of statutory interpretation. Our review is therefore plenary. E.g., Parrot v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 273 Conn. 12, 18, 866 A.2d 1273 (2005). When interpreting a statute, "[o]ur fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Perodeau v. Hartford, 259 Conn. 729, 735, 792 A.2d 752 (2002). To do so, we first consult "the text of the statute itself and its relationship to other statutes. If, after examining such text and considering such relationship, the meaning of such text is plain and unambiguous and does not yield absurd or unworkable results, extratextual evidence of the meaning of the statute shall not be considered." General Statutes § 1-2z.

We begin our analysis by looking to the statutory provision in question. General Statutes § 14-227a(a) provides in relevant part: "No person shall operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both. A person commits the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both if such person operates a motor vehicle on a public highway of this state . . . (1) while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both, or (2) while such person has an elevated blood alcohol content. . . ." Section 14-227a(a) prohibits operating a motor vehicle while under the influence rather than merely driving a motor vehicle while under the influence. It is well settled that "operating" encompasses a broader range of conduct than does "driving." See State v. Swift, supra, 125 Conn. at 402-403, 6 A.2d 359 (statute "refers to persons who shall operate a motor vehicle, and is not confined to persons who shall drive a motor vehicle"); see also State v. Gordon, 84 Conn.App. 519, 527, 854 A.2d 74 ("[t]he definition of `operation' does not require [a] defendant to drive the car"), cert. denied, 271 Conn. 941, 861 A.2d 516 (2004). Neither § 14-227a nor any related statute, however, defines "operation" of a motor vehicle. Moreover, the legislative history of § 14-227a and its predecessor statutes offers no insight into the definition of "operation" of a motor vehicle.

In State v. Swift, supra, 125 Conn. at 403, 6 A.2d 359, however, this court set forth the definition of "operation" of a motor vehicle that our courts have applied since. In that case, the defendant, Lyman F. Swift, "[a]fter visiting various dramshops in New London during the evening and partaking of intoxicating liquors . . . drove a car to Norwich . . . and returned to New London. . . . In an attempt to avoid another car on Williams Street in New London, [Swift] drove his car into a bank. He was under the influence of intoxicating liquors at the time. . . . Police officers arrived on the scene immediately thereafter and found [Swift] sitting behind the wheel attempting to start the engine of the car while [a passenger], the only other occupant of the car at the time of the accident, was attempting to push it." Id., at 401, 6 A.2d 359. Swift claimed that he never had driven the vehicle and entered the driver's seat only after the vehicle had collided with the bank, when his companion had left the vehicle to attempt to push it. Id.

At the conclusion of Swift's ensuing trial on the charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, the trial court instructed the jury regarding the definition of "operation" as follows: "A person operates a motor vehicle within the meaning of this statute, when in the vehicle he intentionally does any act or makes use of any mechanical or electrical agency which alone or in sequence will set in motion the motive power of the vehicle. So if you find that the accused, while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, got into the automobile, while it was standing [at the] side of the street, and manipulated the machinery of the motor for the purpose of putting the automobile into motion, the accused being in the car and in a position to control its movements, the accused would be guilty of operating a car under the influence of intoxicating liquor, whether the automobile...