Marshall v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles

Citations

• 348 Conn. 778

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 14-227b (c)), when a person has been arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, the arresting officer ''shall prepare a report of the incident and shall mail or otherwise transmit . . . the report and a copy 348 Conn. 778 APRIL, 2024 779 Marshall v. Commissioner of Motor Vehicles of the results of any chemical test [of such person's blood, breath or urine] to the Department of Motor Vehicles within three business days.'' Pursuant further to Volck v. Muzio (204 Conn. 507), an incident report prepared in accordance with § 14-227b (c) is admissible at a motor vehicle operator's license suspension hearing, as an exception to the hearsay rule, without the need for testimony from the arresting officer. The plaintiff, who had been arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, appealed to the trial court from the decision of the defendant, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, who temporarily suspended the plaintiff's license to operate a motor vehicle. At the plaintiff's license suspension hearing, the plaintiff's attor- ney objected to the admission of an incident report that was prepared by the arresting officer on the ground that it was not prepared and mailed to the Department of Motor Vehicles within three business days, as required by § 14-227b (c). The arresting officer had not completed the report until five business days after the plaintiff's arrest. The department hearing officer overruled the objection and admitted the report, which was the only evidence submitted at the hearing. On appeal to the trial court from the hearing officer's decision, that court dismissed the appeal, concluding that strict adherence with the preparation and mailing requirement of § 14-227b (c) was not necessary for the report to be admissible because the report bore indicia of trustworthiness and relia- bility. The Appellate Court affirmed the trial court's judgment