23 results for 'judge:"Seeley"'.
J. Seely finds the trial court improperly denied post sentencing motions for a defendant charged with burglary when he challenged his sentence on the grounds of double jeopardy. The state argues the trial court no longer had jurisdiction to consider a post-sentencing request. The trial court does not have jurisdiction because the case had begun, and the defendant failed to file his post-sentencing motion within the time period allowed to rule on the motions. This case is remanded for further proceedings to dismiss the motions. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: AC46463, Categories: Burglary, Sentencing, Jurisdiction
J. Seeley finds the trial court properly granted the city’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction in this personal injury dispute brought by a driver after she was injured and her vehicle was damaged on a defective roadway. The driver alleges the city was aware of the condition and failed to repair it because she had reported a defective water main hole cover to the police and the public works department. She failed to state a cause of injury in her notice. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: AC46460, Categories: Government, Vehicle, Negligence
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly determined the log created by the town employee regarding allegations of misconduct against the former chief of police was a public document subject to disclosure following a Freedom of Information Act request. The conduct of the chief, which led to administrative leave and his eventual retirement, is undoubtedly a matter of public concern and was received by a public agency when the employee transferred it to the city manager. Additionally, even though the log was given to the town attorney to formulate a plan regarding the chief of police, it was created as a series of personal observations and not for seeking legal advice. Therefore, the lower court properly determined it was not protected by attorney-client privilege. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: AC45885, Categories: Government, Public Record, Privilege
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J. Seeley finds the lower court violated the alleged sexual assault victim's due process rights when it dismissed the case against her assailant without providing notice of the grounds it intended to invoke for the dismissal. Additionally, the court failed to give either party the chance to address the issue of mootness based on previous lawsuits filed by the victim and could not use the prior pending action rule to dismiss the case because the rule had not been raised by the assailant. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: February 15, 2024, Case #: AC46440, Categories: Due Process
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly dismissed the inmate's petition for a writ of habeas corpus on ineffective assistance claims because he failed to provide any evidence that an eyewitness identification expert would have altered the result of the trial. During the habeas hearing, an experienced defense litigator testified the state's eyewitnesses were sure the petitioner was the shooter, an opinion corroborated by enhanced surveillance footage, and so the trial attorney's decision to refuse to obtain an expert witness was part of a reasonable trial strategy. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: AC45738, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Experts
J. Seeley finds the court properly terminated the mother's parental rights. Although she completed a portion of her case plan following the initial removal of the child, the various failed drug tests and her refusal to accept responsibility for her problems prevented her from proving rehabilitation sufficient to reestablish custody of the child. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: January 22, 2024, Case #: AC46488, Categories: Evidence, Family Law
J. Seeley finds the trial court properly granted the city's motion for summary judgment on workers' compensation retaliation claims filed by the police officers. Although a supervisor made derogatory comments when the officers sought surgeries for their injuries, their positions were eliminated - along with more than 100 other officers - as a result of budget cuts, a legitimate and non-discriminatory reason. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: AC45548, Categories: Employment Retaliation, Workers' Compensation
J. Seeley finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to testify in his own defense during his sex assault case the day after he waived the right in open court. The court conducted a full and extensive canvass with defendant about whether he wanted to testify and whether his decision was the result of coercion on the part of his attorney or any other party. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: December 8, 2023, Case #: AC45869, Categories: Constitution, Sex Offender
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly found for an insurer and denied the policyholders' request for coverage under their home and umbrella policies in a car collision case. The injuries sustained by the passenger in the vehicle driven by the policyholders' son while intoxicated could not have occurred without the son's operation of a motor vehicle, and the policies at issue contain exclusions for non-covered vehicles. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: AC45933, Categories: Insurance, Tort, Contract
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly denied the inmate's petition for a writ of habeas corpus because his claims of ineffective assistance related to the state's plea offer before a murder trial were meritless. The inmate's attorney properly explained the elements of the crimes with which he was charged and the state's burden of proof. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: AC45795, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Seeley finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss a charge of second-degree sexual assault. His continued involvement with the high school soccer team, including participation at a workout and attendance at an awards banquet, created an issue of fact for the jury as to whether he was a school employee at the time he engaged in a sexual relationship with a player on the team. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: AC45314, Categories: Evidence, Sex Offender
J. Seeley finds defendant's confrontation rights were not violated when the chief medical examiner, and not the individual who prepared the victim's autopsy report, testified at his trial about both the report and photos from the autopsy. Not only was the cause of death established by other evidence in the record, but defendant's strategy focused on his intoxication at the time of the shooting, not how the victim died. However, defendant's stipulation he had previously been convicted of a felony was insufficient to prove he lacked a license to possess the gun used in the shooting; therefore, that conviction will be vacated and the case will be remanded for resentencing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Connecticut Supreme Court, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: SC20452, Categories: Confrontation, Firearms, Manslaughter
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly dismissed an inmate's habeas petition on ineffective assistance of counsel claims. While defense counsel should have objected to the admission of evidence about his co-conspirators' sexual assault of the victim of their robbery, a crime with which the inmate was never charged, the jury's decision to acquit him on some charges and the overwhelming evidence of his guilt on others prevented him from proving prejudice. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: AC45321, Categories: Burglary, Habeas, Ineffective Assistance
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly dismissed the inmate's habeas petition. The possibility of undermining the defense's strategy of proving several witnesses intentionally misidentified the inmate as the shooter gave his attorney a legitimate reason not to call a witness who was allegedly willing to testify she saw "two masked men" commit the murder instead of the inmate. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: AC45841, Categories: Habeas, Ineffective Assistance, Murder
J. Seeley finds the wife's failure to raise her due process claim, which stemmed from the court's decision to grant the husband custody of the parties' children, before the trial court renders that argument abandoned. Meanwhile, the trial court properly denied her motion for a continuance because she had several months to prepare for the custody hearing but chose not to complete a psychological evaluation or submit a financial affidavit with the court, both of which could have had a substantial impact on the outcome of the case. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: AC45100, Categories: Civil Procedure, Evidence, Family Law
J. Seeley finds the lower court erroneously determined the issue of arbitrability on its own in a slip and fall case. While there may have been ambiguity in the parties' arbitration agreement as to whether normal negligence claims, such as the park patron's slip and fall lawsuit, were arbitrable, the agreement expressly left the issue of arbitrability up to the arbitrator. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: AC45127, Categories: Arbitration, Negligence
J. Seeley finds that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over defendant’s claim regarding the denial of his request for self-representation. Defendant’s claim the court improperly prohibited him from representing himself at the sentencing hearing plausibly challenges that proceeding and “meets the threshold for subject matter jurisdiction with respect to a motion to correct an illegal sentence.” Reversed in part.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: July 21, 2023, Case #: AC 45614, Categories: Self Representation
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly granted the employer's motion for summary judgment on labor law claims filed by a class of limousine drivers. Evidence shows the drivers did not work during one-hour unpaid meal breaks and used the time for their own benefits. Although the drivers were required to stay with their vehicles and remain within two miles of their next scheduled pickups, deposition testimony indicates they were able to go to malls and offtrack betting sites, converse with other drivers, and use their cell phones to surf the internet, all of which proved the time was not compensable under the relevant labor laws. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: AC44659, Categories: Evidence, Class Action, Labor
J. Seeley finds the lower court properly denied the state's motion to dismiss on the grounds of sovereign immunity because the Office of the Claims Commissioner properly granted the estate permission to sue for lack of informed consent after it provided an expert report regarding the state's transfer of the decedent to a Florida facility for treatment. Additionally, the expert report was sufficient to allow the estate's claim to proceed and obviated the need for a hearing, which is not required under Connecticut law in any case. Affirmed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: AC45088, Categories: Immunity, Experts, Medical Malpractice
J. Seeley finds the trial court erroneously dismissed the borrower's counterclaim in the foreclosure action. His petition to invalidate a lien placed on the property by the lender was not required to be brought in a separate action under Connecticut law. The relevant statute does not include the term "mortgage;" therefore, the lower court had jurisdiction over the counterclaim, which will be reinstated. Reversed.
Court: Connecticut Court Of Appeals, Judge: Seeley, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: AC45366, Categories: Civil Procedure, Jurisdiction, Banking / Lending