Reyes v. State

Syllabus

Pursuant to statute (§ 54-95 (a)), ''[n]o appeal may be taken from a judgment denying a petition for a new trial unless, within ten days after the judgment is rendered, the judge who heard the case or a judge of the Supreme Court or the Appellate Court, as the case may be, certifies that a question is involved in the decision which ought to be reviewed by the Supreme Court or by the Appellate Court. . . .'' The petitioner, who had been convicted of arson in the second degree, conspiracy to commit criminal mischief in the first degree, and conspir- acy to commit burglary in the first degree, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court denying his petition for a new trial. After the parties had filed their initial appellate briefs, this court ordered that, at oral argument, they be prepared to address whether the appeal should be dismissed because the petitioner failed to seek certification to appeal pursuant to § 54-95 (a), and, at oral argument, the state requested a dismissal of the appeal due to the petitioner's failure to comply with that requirement. This court then ordered the parties to file supplemental briefs on the issue. Held that the appeal was dismissed due to the petitioner's failure to seek certification to appeal pursuant to § 54-95 (a): pursuant to Santiago v. State (261 Conn. 533), compliance with § 54-95 (a) is mandatory, and an appellate tribunal should not entertain an appeal from the denial of a petition for a new trial unless the petitioner first has sought certification to appeal pursuant to the statute; accord- ingly, this court declined to entertain the petitioner's appeal. Argued September 9, 2021—officially released February 15, 2022