State v. Godbout

Citations

• 229 Conn. App. 231

Syllabus

The defendant appealed from the judgment of conviction rendered by the trial court following his plea of nolo contendere to the crime of disorderly conduct. The defendant claimed, inter alia, that a certain statute (§ 54-94a) and rule of practice (§ 39-18) governing pleas of nolo contendere were unconstitutional because they violated the common-law presumption of innocence. Held: The defendant waived his claims that § 54-94a and Practice Book § 39-18 were unconstitutional, as his plea of nolo contendere operated as a waiver of all nonjurisdictional defects and barred the later assertion of constitutional challenges to pretrial proceedings, and neither of his claims of error chal- lenged either the exercise of jurisdiction by the court or the voluntary and intelligent nature of his plea. This court declined to review the defendant's inadequately briefed claims that the charges against him lacked probable cause, that the trial court erred in not complying with the requirements of Practice Book § 39-18, that the court violated his due process rights by failing to hold a hearing on certain postjudgment motions and that the judges who presided over his case acted without authority. The defendant's claim that the trial court exceeded its authority by imposing terms to his conditional discharge was moot, as it was undisputed that this appeal was not heard until after his one year term of conditional discharge had expired, and there was no practical relief this court could provide to the defendant. Argued September 17—officially released November 19, 2024