The Connecticut Supreme Court’s Seventh Term begins today and ends on Thursday, April 6th. Here’s a look at the first week of the March/April term:
Monday, March 27, 2017
The Court starts the term by hearing oral argument in Munn v. Hotchkiss, SC 19525, which is a federal lawsuit that resulted in a $41.5 million verdict in favor of a fifteen year old student who contracted tick-borne encephalitis while on a study abroad program in China that was organized by her Connecticut high school. The Second Circuit certified to the Supreme Court the question of whether Connecticut public policy imposes a duty on schools to warn about or protect against the risk of a serious insect-borne disease when it organizes a trip abroad. The second case of the day is State v. Holley, SC 19598, which is the State’s appeal from the Appellate Court’s decision reversing a felony murder conviction based on testimony from non-expert witnesses that went beyond the limitations on lay opinion set forth in Code of Evidence section 7-1.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
The Court hears argument in Machado v. Taylor, SC 19838, where the State is claiming that it is shielded by sovereign immunity for injuries caused when a Department of Transportation truck hit the plaintiff’s vehicle because the plaintiff failed to prove that the State had obtained insurance coverage for its truck. In State v. Harris, SC 19649, the defendant, supported by an Innocence Project amicus brief, asks the Court to reconsider the test for eyewitness identifications in light of new scientific developments on the accuracy of such identifications.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The Court hears two criminal cases. The first, State v. Kelley, SC 19694, asks whether a trial court loses jurisdiction to find a defendant in violation of his probation when it fails to dispose of the charge within 120 days after the arraignment. State v. Houghtaling, SC 19510, presents a Fourth Amendment question as to whether a residential property owner has standing to object to a search when he is leasing the property.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
The first case of the day is Maturo v. State Employees Retirement Commission, SC 19831, which asks whether a retired municipal firefighter becomes ineligible for his pension when he gets elected to be the town’s mayor. The second case, James v. Commissioner of Correction, SC 19787, will address whether and how presentence confinement credits apply when the defendant’s convictions where obtained after multiple trials.