State v. Schimanski

Citations

• 201 Conn. App. 164

Syllabus

Convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of the crime of operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, the defendant appealed to this court, challenging the trial court's denial of her motion to dismiss counts in the state's first substitute information. The defendant was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and her license was suspended for forty-five days pursuant to statute (§ 14-227b (i)) as a result of her refusal to take a chemical alcohol test. The defendant was subsequently ordered not to operate a vehicle that was not equipped with an ignition interlock device. Forty-seven days after the suspension began, the defendant operated a vehicle that did not have an ignition interlock device installed in it and allegedly struck another motor vehicle. Thereafter, she was charged with, inter alia, operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension in violation of the applicable statute (§ 14-215 (c) (1)) and operating a motor vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device in violation of the applicable statute (§ 14-227k (a) (2)). The defendant moved for a dismissal of these charges against her, claiming that the forty-five day suspension of her license had expired and that she had not yet been obligated to operate a motor vehicle with an ignition interlock device installed. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss. The state subsequently filed a second substitute information charging the defendant solely with operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension. From the judgment of conviction, the defendant appealed to this court. Held: 1. The trial court properly denied the defendant's motion to dismiss the count of the state's first substitute information charging her with operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension: the text of § 14- 215 (c) (1) penalizes a person who operates a motor vehicle while, inter alia, her license is under su