State v. Valinski

• Decision Date: 28 April 1999
• Docket Number: (AC 17466)
• Parties: STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. STANLEY T. VALINSKI
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals

53 Conn. App. 23

731 A.2d 311

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. STANLEY T. VALINSKI

(AC 17466)

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued November 30, 1998.

Officially released April 28, 1999.¹

O'Connell, C. J., and Landau and Daly, Js.

Robert J. McKay, for the appellant (defendant).

Robert J. Scheinblum, assistant state's attorney, with whom were Dawn Gallo, deputy assistant state's attorney, and, on the brief, Andrew M. Wittstein, supervisory assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

Opinion

LANDAU, J.

The defendant, Stanley T. Valinski, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial in part to the court and in part to the jury,² of operating a motor vehicle while his license was under suspension in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1995) § 14-215 (c),³ failure to drive on the right in violation of General Statutes § 14-230 (a) and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a.⁴

The defendant was charged in a two part information. In part B of the information, the state alleged that the defendant was subject to an enhanced penalty based on a previous conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor. Thereafter, the defendant pleaded nolo contendere to part B of the information. On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) as a matter of law, § 14-215 is inapplicable to the facts of this case, (2) the state's evidence was insufficient to sustain a guilty verdict, (3) the state engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by misrepresenting to the jury that it would call a certain witness and (4) the trial court's unchallenged instructions were misleading and confusing.⁵ We reverse the judgment of the trial court in part. The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. The parties stipulated that on December 15, 1994, the defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or drugs in violation of § 14-227a (a).⁶ As a result of the conviction, the department of motor vehicles (department) suspended the defendant's operating privileges on January 13, 1995.⁷ On January 14, 1995, the department issued a work permit to the defendant.⁸

On Saturday, May 13, 1995, State Trooper Kevin Albanese stopped the defendant's vehicle on Route 44 in Canaan after twice observing it swerve in and out of the oncoming lane and nearly strike a guardrail post after it drifted over the white shoulder line. While waiting for the defendant's license and registration, Albanese asked the defendant where he had been. The defendant replied that he was returning from a fishing trip with his dog. After Albanese reviewed the work permit that the defendant handed him and noticed the restrictions on the permit, he again inquired of the defendant where he had been. This time, the defendant replied that he was returning from a fishing trip with several business associates, but, when asked, was unable to supply their names.

After receiving the defendant's information, Albanese contacted Troop B in North Canaan and confirmed that the defendant's right to operate a motor vehicle was under suspension. Albanese detected a strong odor of alcohol and noticed that the defendant's eyes were red and glassy. On the basis of the defendant's erratic driving, the strong odor of alcohol and the appearance of the defendant's eyes, Albanese believed that the defendant was operating while under the influence of alcohol. After administering three field sobriety tests, Albanese confirmed his belief.⁹ Thereafter, Albanese arrested the defendant and transported him to Troop B, where the defendant refused to submit to any further testing.

Following a jury trial, a verdict of guilty was returned on the three noninfraction counts: two counts of operating a motor vehicle while his license was under suspension and one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor. On the charge of failure to drive on the right, the court made a finding of guilty.¹⁰ On June 5, 1997, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss and his motion for a mistrial. On June 6, 1997, the trial court denied the defendant's amended motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of evidence. Thereafter, on June 25, 1997, the trial court granted the defendant's motion to set aside the verdict on one count of operating a motor vehicle while his license was under suspension and denied the defendant's motions for judgment of acquittal on the remaining charges and for new trial. This appeal followed. Other facts will be discussed where relevant to the issues in this appeal.

I

Initially, we address the defendant's numerous claims challenging the state's authority to charge him with a violation of § 14-215, operating a motor vehicle while his license was under suspension.¹¹ Essentially, the substance of the question he raises in these claims is whether, as a matter of law, § 14-215 is applicable to the facts of this case. The state responds that on the basis of the plain language and the legislative intent behind the enactment of § 14-215, there is no merit to the defendant's claim that he was exempt from prosecution under § 14-215 simply because he possessed a special operator's permit pursuant to General Statutes § 14-37a. We agree with the state.

Because this is an issue of first impression, which raises a question of law requiring our construction of § 14-215, our analysis is governed by well established principles of statutory construction. Accordingly, our review is plenary. See State v. Swain, 245 Conn. 442, 451, 718 A.2d 1 (1998).

"`Our fundamental objective is to ascertain and give effect to the apparent intent of the legislature.... In seeking to discern that intent, we look to the words of the statute itself, to the legislative history and circumstances surrounding its enactment, to the legislative policy it was designed to implement, and to its relationship to existing legislation and common law principles governing the same general subject matter.'" Edelstein v. Dept. of Public Health & Addiction Services, 240 Conn. 658, 664, 692 A.2d 803 (1997). Furthermore, "principles of statutory construction ... require us to construe a statute in a manner that will not thwart its intended purpose or lead to absurd results.... We must avoid a construction that fails to attain a rational and sensible result that bears directly on the purpose the legislature sought to achieve." (Citations omitted.) Turner v. Turner, 219 Conn. 703, 712-13, 595 A.2d 297 (1991). "`Where the legislative intent is clear there is no room for statutory construction.'"Kelemen v. Rimrock Corp., 207 Conn. 599, 606, 542 A.2d 720 (1988). A primary rule of statutory construction is that "when the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, we need look no further than the words themselves because we assume that the language expresses the legislature's intent." American Universal Ins. Co. v. DelGreco, 205 Conn. 178, 193, 530 A.2d 171 (1987).

General Statutes (Rev. to 1995) § 14-215 (c) provides in relevant part that "[a]ny person who operates any motor vehicle during the period his operator's license or right to operate a motor vehicle in this state is under suspension ... on account of a violation of subsection (a) of section 14-227a ... shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than one year, thirty consecutive days of which may not be suspended or reduced in any manner." We conclude that the language of § 14-215 (c) is plain and unambiguous and, accordingly, resort to legislative history is unnecessary. See State v. Lubus, 216 Conn. 402, 407, 581 A.2d 1045 (1990).

The plain meaning of § 14-215 conveys a clear intention to provide the state with the legal authority to prosecute any person who operates a motor vehicle outside the scope of the work permit while his or her license is under suspension. Accordingly, we also conclude that the trial court did not improperly deny the defendant's motions and the prosecutor did not improperly charge the defendant.¹²

II

The defendant claims that the trial court's instructions were misleading and confusing. Specifically, the defendant claims that the constitutionally deficient instructions in this case violated his due process rights under the state and federal constitutions.¹³ The defendant concedes that this claim is unpreserved but maintains that it is reviewable pursuant to State v. Evans, 165 Conn. 61, 327 A.2d 576 (1973), State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989),¹⁴ and Practice Book § 60-5.¹⁵

We will review the claim under Golding because the record is adequate for review and the defendant alleges the violation of a fundamental right to due process. See State v. Delgado, 50 Conn. App. 159, 170, 718 A.2d 437 (1998); see also State v. Walker, 33 Conn. App. 763, 769, 638 A.2d 1084, cert. denied, 229 Conn. 913, 642 A.2d 1209 (1994) (claim that jury instructions diminish state's burden of proof constitutional in nature). Having satisfied the first and second requirements of Golding, we must consider whether the defendant has satisfied the third requirement of Golding. We conclude that the claim fails because the alleged constitutional violation did not clearly exist and did not clearly deprive the defendant of a fair trial.

The following additional facts and procedural history are necessary for the resolution of this issue. In its charge, the trial court instructed the jury on the law governing the case and its application during deliberations. The court first instructed the jury regarding the state's burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.¹⁶ Thereafter, the court instructed on the specific charges against the defendant.¹⁷ Following the instruction on the charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, the court...