State of Connecticut v. Seth William Apt

Summary

The Connecticut Supreme Court held that erased arrest and court records may not be introduced to prove a sentence enhancement under General Statutes § 53a-40b. However, the erasure statute, General Statutes § 54-142a, does not categorically bar the state from pursuing the enhancement on remand using evidence other than the erased records. The court therefore reversed in part the judgment of the Appellate Court and declined to reach the defendant’s jury-trial claim.

Holdings

1. The trial court improperly admitted the defendant's erased arrest and court records to prove the basis for the § 53a-40b enhancement.
2. The erasure provisions do not categorically preclude the state from pursuing a § 53a-40b sentence enhancement on remand, provided the state does not use the erased records and instead relies on otherwise admissible evidence.
3. The court declined to decide whether the defendant was entitled to a jury determination or proof beyond a reasonable doubt concerning the § 53a-40b enhancement because the admissible evidence to be presented on remand was not yet known.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the erasure provisions of General Statutes §§ 54-142a and 54-142c categorically barred the state from pursuing a sentence enhancement under § 53a-40b after the records concerning the prior arrests and proceedings had been erased.
2. Whether the defendant was entitled to a jury determination and proof beyond a reasonable doubt concerning the factual basis for the § 53a-40b sentence enhancement.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded