State v. Timmons, 12986

CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
Citation526 A.2d 1340,204 Conn. 120
Docket NumberNo. 12986,12986
PartiesSTATE of Connecticut v. Thomas TIMMONS.
Decision Date16 June 1987

Eugene J. Riccio, Special Public Defender, for appellant (defendant).

Frederick W. Fawcett, Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, were Donald A. Browne, State's Atty., and Richard F. Jacobson and Robert A. Lacobelle, Asst. State's Attys., for appellee (State).

Before PETERS, C.J., and ARTHUR H. HEALEY, SHEA, CRETELLA and ARNOLD W. ARONSON, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

In this appeal from his conviction of manslaughter in the first degree, a violation of General Statutes § 53a-55(a)(1), 1 the defendant, Thomas Timmons, has raised two issues. He claims that his conviction should be set aside because (1) the trial court, Callahan, J., failed to afford him a probable cause hearing on the crime of murder with which he had originally been charged, and (2) the trial court, Stodolink, J., misinstructed the jury on the inferences that might be drawn from the defendant's flight from the scene of the crime. These claims of error were first presented to, and rejected by, the Appellate Court; State v. Timmons, 7 Conn.App. 457, 509 A.2d 64 (1986); and have now been renewed in this court pursuant to our grant of certification. After reviewing the briefs and the record and listening to the oral argument, we conclude that the appeal should be dismissed on the ground that certification was improvidently granted. It would serve no useful purpose for us to repeat the Appellate Court's full and carefully considered discussion of the defendant's claims of error.

The defendant's main contention is that, because a probable cause hearing is a constitutional and jurisdictional prerequisite to a prosecution for murder; Conn. Const., amend. XVII; 2 General Statutes § 54-46a(a); State v. Mitchell, 200 Conn. 323, 332, 512 A.2d 140 (1986); State v. Sanabria, 192 Conn. 671, 673, 474 A.2d 760 (1984); a failure to hold such a hearing deprives the court of subject matter jurisdiction to convict him of the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree. State v. Rodriguez, 180 Conn. 382, 400, 429 A.2d 919 (1980). We agree with the reasoning of the Appellate Court rejecting this contention because the state was entitled to prosecute the defendant for manslaughter on the basis of the information that it had filed prior to his arraignment. 3

The appeal is dismissed.

1 "[General Statutes] Sec. 53a-55. MANSLAUGHTER IN THE FIRST DEGREE: CLASS B FELONY. (a) A person is guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when: (1) With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person."

2 Amendment seventeen of the Connecticut constitution provides in relevant part: "No person shall be held to answer for any crime, punishable by death or life imprisonment, unless upon probable cause shown at a hearing in accordance with procedures...

To continue reading

Request your trial
16 cases
  • Borkowski v. Sacheti, 14181
    • United States
    • Connecticut Court of Appeals
    • 20 de novembro de 1996
    ...to the evidence and issues presented in court." State v. Timmons, 7 Conn.App. 457, 467, 509 A.2d 64 (1986), appeal dismissed, 204 Conn. 120, 526 A.2d 1340 (1987) (certification improvidently granted). "It is the law of this state that a request to charge which is relevant to the issues of a......
  • State v. Thomas, 15740
    • United States
    • Connecticut Court of Appeals
    • 15 de setembro de 1998
    ... ...         A trial court is not required to give a requested instruction simply because it embodies a correct statement of the law. State v. Timmons, 7 Conn.App. 457, 464, 509 A.2d 64, appeal dismissed, 204 Conn. 120, 526 A.2d 1340 (1987). Here, the trial court was not required to give the defendant's requested instruction because the overwhelming evidence that the defendant had the intent required for manslaughter negated the likelihood that ... ...
  • State v. Nita, 9820
    • United States
    • Connecticut Court of Appeals
    • 22 de abril de 1992
    ... ... A request to charge must be adapted to the evidence in the case or to the issues before the jury. State v. Maturo, 188 Conn. 591, 600, 452 A.2d 642 (1982); State v. Timmons, 7 Conn.App. 457, 467, 509 A.2d 64 (1986) appeal dismissed, 204 Conn. 120, 526 A.2d 1340 (1987). A trial court properly may refuse to deliver a requested instruction that raises an issue not supported by the [27 Conn.App. 110] pleadings or the evidence, particularly where such a charge might ... ...
  • State v. Amado
    • United States
    • Connecticut Court of Appeals
    • 6 de outubro de 1998
    ...to lead to a fracas or deadly conflict. State v. Timmons, 7 Conn. App. 457, 469-70, 509 A.2d 64 (1986) [appeal dismissed, 204 Conn. 120, 526 A.2d 1340 (1987)]. "Your other questions are directed to the court's instructions on the defense of self-defense. I will now reread my charge on "Defe......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT