State v. Giannone

Citations

• 228 Conn. App. 11

Syllabus

The defendant appealed from the judgments of the trial court following his convictions of several weapons related charges. He claimed that the trial court improperly denied his motions to dismiss and to suppress because it had incorrectly determined that the applicable statutes (§§ 53-202b, 53-202w and 53a-211) did not violate his second amendment right to bear arms. Held: The trial court applied an incorrect legal standard in denying the defendant's motions to dismiss and to suppress; accordingly, this court reversed the judgments and remanded the cases to the trial court for reconsideration of the defendant's motions under the standard announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn., Inc. v. Bruen (597 U.S. 1). In adjudicating the defendant's as applied constitutional challenge on remand, the trial court was directed to apply the text and history test set forth in Bruen, under which the defendant bears the initial burden to show that the plain text of the second amendment presumptively protects his right to keep and bear the items at issue. This court directed that, if the trial court finds that the second amendment presumptively protects the defendant's conduct, the state then bears the burden to establish the constitutionality of the statutes at issue through historical analogues of firearm regulation that imposed a comparable burden that is comparably justified. Argued March 4—officially released September 17, 2024