Court Opinion

ID: 9966176
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-05-06 12:01:50.658645+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:25:40.616744
License: Public Domain

************************************************
   The “officially released” date that appears near the
beginning of an opinion is the date the opinion will be
published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it
is released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the
beginning of all time periods for the filing of postopin-
ion motions and petitions for certification is the “offi-
cially released” date appearing in the opinion.
   All opinions are subject to modification and technical
correction prior to official publication in the Connecti-
cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut
Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event
of discrepancies between the advance release version of
an opinion and the version appearing in the Connecti-
cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut
Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest
version is to be considered authoritative.
  The syllabus and procedural history accompanying
an opinion that appear in the Connecticut Law Jour-
nal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or
Connecticut Appellate Reports are copyrighted by the
Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may
not be reproduced or distributed without the express
written permission of the Commission on Official Legal
Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut.
************************************************
Page 0                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                      0, 0

         2                          ,0                            0 Conn. App. 1
                            Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

             HODGE v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION
                          (AC 46580)
                                  Alvord, Moll and Seeley, Js.

                                            Syllabus

         The petitioner, who had been convicted of various crimes in connection
            with a fatal hit-and-run accident, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claim-
            ing, inter alia, that certain changes to a risk reduction earned credit
            program had been improperly applied to him by the respondent, the
            Commissioner of Correction. The habeas court, sua sponte and without
            providing the petitioner with prior notice or an opportunity to be heard,
            dismissed the petitioner’s first amended petition pursuant to the rule
            of practice (§ 23-29), concluding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction
            over that petition and that the petition failed to state a claim on which
            habeas corpus relief could be granted. In the petitioner’s prior appeal
            to this court, this court held that the habeas court was required to
            provide to the petitioner prior notice of its intention to dismiss, on its
            own motion, the petition and an opportunity to submit a brief or a
            written response addressing the proposed basis for dismissal, which it
            did not do. Accordingly, this court remanded the case to the habeas
            court for further proceedings. On remand, the habeas court issued the
            requisite notice to the parties, and the petitioner, rather than addressing
            the jurisdiction of the court over the first amended petition, filed a
            second amended petition and a memorandum addressing why the claims
            asserted in his second amended petition were not subject to dismissal.
            The petitioner’s claims in his second amended petition included, inter
            alia, two statutory interpretation claims challenging the respondent’s
            interpretation of certain amendments to the statute (§ 54-125a) govern-
            ing eligibility for parole and risk reduction earned credit. The court
            rejected the second amended petition in light of the pendency of the
            court’s own motion to dismiss and subsequently dismissed the petition-
            er’s first amended petition, reasoning that, in light of the petitioner’s
            failure to respond to the court’s order to address the legal sufficiency
            of the first amended petition, he had abandoned those claims. On the
            granting of certification, the petitioner appealed to this court, challenging
            only the habeas court’s rejection of his second amended petition. After
            the briefs in the present appeal were filed, but before oral argument
            was held before this court, the petitioner completed his underlying
            sentence. Held that the appeal was dismissed as moot, this court having
            concluded that, even if it were to assume that the habeas court erred
            in rejecting the second amended petition, there was no practical relief
            that could be afforded to the petitioner with respect to the claims
            asserted therein: with respect to the petitioner’s statutory interpretation
            claims, the petitioner did not have a present interest in the calculation
0, 0                        CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                     Page 1

       0 Conn. App. 1                                ,0                            3
                         Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction
          of his risk reduction earned credits with regard to his parole eligibility
          date or in a parole suitability hearing; moreover, with respect to the
          petitioner’s claims challenging the circumstances surrounding his deci-
          sion to plead guilty, the petitioner did not seek the vacatur of his guilty
          pleas, and therefore no practical relief remained in connection with
          those claims; furthermore, with respect to the petitioner’s claim challeng-
          ing the performance of his criminal trial counsel during his sentencing
          hearing, although the petitioner’s counsel stated during oral argument
          before this court that, notwithstanding the completion of his sentence,
          the petitioner still purportedly sought a new sentencing hearing, in light
          of the fact that he had fully served his sentence, there was no practical
          relief that could be afforded to him.
                    Argued April 8—officially released May 7, 2024

                                  Procedural History

         Amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus,
       brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of
       Tolland, where the court, Hon. Edward J. Mullarkey,
       judge trial referee, rendered judgment dismissing the
       petition; thereafter, the petitioner, on the granting of
       certification, appealed to this court, Elgo, Moll and
       Clark, Js., which reversed the judgment of the habeas
       court and remanded the case for further proceedings;
       subsequently, the court, Newson, J., rendered judgment
       dismissing the petition, from which the petitioner, on
       the granting of certification, appealed to this court.
       Appeal dismissed.
         Vishal K. Garg, assigned counsel, for the appellant
       (petitioner).
         Lisamaria T. Proscino, assistant attorney general,
       with whom, on the brief, was William Tong, attorney
       general, for the appellee (respondent).
                                        Opinion

          PER CURIAM. This case returns to us following the
       remand ordered in Hodge v. Commissioner of Correc-
       tion, 216 Conn. App. 616, 624, 285 A.3d 1194 (2022).
       The petitioner, Marcus Hodge, appeals, following the
       grant of his petition for certification to appeal, from
Page 2                        CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                    0, 0

         4                         ,0                           0 Conn. App. 1
                           Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

         the judgment of the habeas court dismissing, on its
         own motion, his amended petition for a writ of habeas
         corpus dated November 15, 2017 (first amended peti-
         tion). On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court
         erred in rejecting the filing of his six count amended
         petition dated February 21, 2023 (second amended peti-
         tion). Because there is no practical relief that we can
         afford the petitioner, who has fully served his underly-
         ing sentence, we dismiss the appeal as moot.
            A comprehensive recitation of the relevant factual
         and procedural background, which is not necessary to
         repeat in this opinion, is set forth in Hodge v. Commis-
         sioner of Correction, supra, 216 Conn. App. 616. It suf-
         fices to state that, following the entry of guilty pleas in
         October, 2011, to charges arising out of a fatal hit-and-
         run accident, the petitioner was convicted of man-
         slaughter in the second degree in violation of General
         Statutes § 53a-56 (a) (1), evading responsibility in the
         operation of a motor vehicle in violation of General
         Statutes (Rev. to 2009) § 14-224 (a), and failure to regis-
         ter as a sex offender in violation of General Statutes
         (Rev. to 2009) § 54-251. The court, Alexander, J., sen-
         tenced the petitioner to a total effective sentence of
         fifteen years of incarceration without the imposition of
         probation or special parole.1 While he was serving his
         sentence, he filed in the present action, inter alia, his
         first amended petition, which the habeas court, Hon.
         Edward J. Mullarkey, judge trial referee, dismissed on
         its own motion pursuant to Practice Book § 23-29. See
         Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 619.
           In the petitioner’s appeal from the court’s dismissal
         of his first amended petition, this court held that ‘‘the
            1
              This court has taken judicial notice of the petitioner’s December 16,
         2011 sentencing proceeding and notes that the court, Alexander, J., also
         concomitantly sentenced the petitioner in a separate violation of probation
         file to seven years and three months of incarceration and two years of
         incarceration in each of three other violation of probation files, all to run
         concurrently.
0, 0                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                       Page 3

       0 Conn. App. 1                                  ,0                             5
                          Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

       habeas court committed error in dismissing the [first]
       amended habeas petition pursuant to [Practice Book]
       § 23-29 without providing to the petitioner prior notice
       of its intention to dismiss, on its own motion, the [first]
       amended habeas petition and an opportunity to submit
       a brief or a written response addressing the proposed
       basis for dismissal.’’ Id., 617–18. We went on to ‘‘con-
       clude that the proper remedy is to reverse the judgment
       of dismissal and remand the case to the habeas court
       for further proceedings according to law. Should the
       habeas court again elect to exercise its discretion to
       dismiss the [first] amended petition, or any subsequent
       amended petition properly filed by the petitioner, on
       its own motion pursuant to . . . § 23-29, the court must
       comply with the mandate of Brown [v. Commissioner
       of Correction, 345 Conn. 1, 282 A.3d 959 (2022)] and
       Boria [v. Commissioner of Correction, 345 Conn. 39,
       282 A.3d 433 (2022)] by providing to the petitioner prior
       notice and an opportunity to submit a brief or a written
       response addressing the proposed basis for dismissal.’’
       Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 216 Conn.
       App. 624.
         On remand, the habeas court, Newson, J., issued the
       requisite notice to the petitioner and the respondent,
       the Commissioner of Correction.2 After an extension of
         2
           The notice provided: ‘‘NOTICE OF POSSIBLE DISMISSAL PURSUANT
       TO PRACTICE BOOK § 23-29
         ‘‘Pursuant to the remand order of the Appellate Court, upon review of
       the complaint in the above-titled matter, the court hereby gives notice pursu-
       ant to Practice Book § 23-29 that the court will consider whether the petition,
       or certain counts thereof, should be dismissed for the following reasons:
         ‘‘(1) the court lacks jurisdiction;
         ‘‘(2) the petition, or a count thereof, fails to state a claim upon which
       habeas corpus relief can be granted;
         ‘‘(5) any other legally sufficient ground for dismissal of the petition exists.
         ‘‘MORE SPECIFICALLY: Since the petitioner’s offense date preceded
       enactment of the [risk reduction earned credit] statute he now asserts the
       benefit of, should his claim(s) be dismissed.
         ‘‘Pursuant to the case of Brown v. Commissioner of Correction, [supra,
       345 Conn. 1], the parties shall have until January 20, 2023, to submit any
       legal memorandum they wish the court to consider in its decision.’’
Page 4                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                     0, 0

         6                          ,0                            0 Conn. App. 1
                            Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

         time, on February 21, 2023, instead of filing the contem-
         plated submission defending the jurisdiction of the
         court over the first amended petition, the petitioner
         simultaneously filed (1) the second amended petition
         and (2) a ‘‘memorandum re: jurisdiction’’ addressing
         why the claims asserted in his second amended petition
         were not subject to dismissal.

            With respect to the second amended petition, the
         petitioner asserted the following claims: (1) a so-called
         statutory interpretation claim challenging (a) the
         respondent’s interpretation of No. 13-3 of the 2013 Pub-
         lic Acts, § 59, which amended subsections (b) (2), (c),
         and (e) of General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 54-125a,
         and (b) the resulting calculation of the petitioner’s risk
         reduction earned credits (RREC) vis-à-vis his parole
         eligibility date (count one); (2) a so-called statutory
         interpretation claim challenging (a) the respondent’s
         interpretation of No. 13-247 of the 2013 Public Acts,
         § 376, which amended subsections (d) and (e) of Gen-
         eral Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 54-125a, and (b) the
         resulting refusal by the respondent to hold a parole
         suitability hearing (count two); (3) a Santobello3 claim
         and an ineffective assistance of counsel claim challeng-
         ing the circumstances surrounding the petitioner’s deci-
         sion to plead guilty (counts three and four, respec-
         tively); (4) an ineffective assistance of counsel claim
         challenging the petitioner’s criminal trial counsel’s per-
         formance at the petitioner’s sentencing hearing (count
             ‘‘In Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262, 92 S. Ct. 495, 30 L. Ed. 2d
             3

         427 (1971), the United States Supreme Court stated that ‘the adjudicative
         element inherent in accepting a plea of guilty, must be attended by safeguards
         to [en]sure the defendant what is reasonably due in the circumstances.
         Those circumstances will vary, but a constant factor is that when a plea
         rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor,
         so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or consideration, such
         promise must be fulfilled.’ ’’ State v. Hurdle, 217 Conn. App. 453, 470, 288
         A.3d 675, cert. granted, 346 Conn. 923, 295 A.3d 420 (2023).
0, 0                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                     Page 5

       0 Conn. App. 1                                 ,0                            7
                          Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

       five); and (5) a due process claim challenging the prose-
       cutor’s alleged rescission of an agreement to a sentence
       modification hearing (count six).
          On February 21, 2023, the court rejected the second
       amended petition in light of the pendency of the court’s
       own motion to dismiss.4 On February 27, 2023, the peti-
       tioner filed a ‘‘request to accept and docket amended
       petition for a writ of habeas corpus,’’ which the court
       denied that same day. On March 30, 2023, the court
       dismissed the petitioner’s first amended petition, rea-
       soning that, in light of the petitioner’s failure to respond
       to the court’s order to address the legal sufficiency of
       the first amended petition, he had abandoned those
       claims. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition for
       certification to appeal, which the court granted. This
       appeal followed.
          On January 8, 2024, between the filing of the appeal
       and oral argument before this court, the petitioner com-
       pleted his underlying sentence. On appeal, the peti-
       tioner exclusively challenges the court’s rejection of
       the petitioner’s second amended petition. For the rea-
       sons that follow, we dismiss the appeal as moot.
         ‘‘Mootness implicates [this] court’s subject matter
       jurisdiction and is thus a threshold matter for us to
       resolve. . . . It is a [well settled] general rule that the
         4
            Specifically, the court stated: ‘‘This matter was remanded from the Appel-
       late Court with specific directions on the issue to be addressed, namely,
       whether the [first amended] petition should be dismissed.
          ‘‘Based on that remand order, this court issued notice to the parties (Order
       #119.00) to respond in writing whether the matter should be dismissed
       because the habeas court lacked jurisdiction over the claims made in the
       initial action. Further pleadings not directly addressing the issue of the
       motion to dismiss are not appropriate until such time as [the question of]
       whether the jurisdiction of the habeas court was properly invoked by the
       content of the original petition has been answered. [See] Marshall v. Com-
       missioner of Correction, 206 Conn. App. 461, 470, 261 A.3d 49, [cert. denied,
       338 Conn. 916, 259 A.3d 1180 (2021)].’’
Page 6                   CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                        0, 0

         8                    ,0                       0 Conn. App. 1
                       Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

         existence of an actual controversy is an essential requi-
         site to appellate jurisdiction; it is not the province of
         appellate courts to decide moot questions, discon-
         nected from the granting of actual relief or from the
         determination of which no practical relief can follow.
         . . . An actual controversy must exist not only at the
         time the appeal is taken, but also throughout the pen-
         dency of the appeal. . . . When, during the pendency
         of an appeal, events have occurred that preclude an
         appellate court from granting any practical relief
         through its disposition of the merits, a case has become
         moot. . . . [A] subject matter jurisdictional defect may
         not be waived . . . [or jurisdiction] conferred by the
         parties, explicitly or implicitly. . . . [T]he question of
         subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law . . .
         and, once raised, either by a party or by the court itself,
         the question must be answered before the court may
         decide the case.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
         Brookstone Homes, LLC v. Merco Holdings, LLC, 208
         Conn. App. 789, 798–99, 266 A.3d 921 (2021).
            Mindful of the foregoing principles, we conclude that,
         even if we were to assume arguendo that the court
         erred in rejecting the second amended petition, there
         is no practical relief that can be afforded to the peti-
         tioner with respect to the claims asserted therein. With
         respect to the petitioner’s so-called statutory interpreta-
         tion claims set forth in counts one and two, the peti-
         tioner does not have a present interest in the calculation
         of his RREC credits vis-à-vis his parole eligibility date
         or in a parole suitability hearing. With respect to the
         petitioner’s Santobello and ineffective assistance of
         counsel claims set forth in counts three and four, which
         challenge the circumstances surrounding his decision
         to plead guilty, the petitioner does not seek the vacatur
         of his guilty pleas, as confirmed by the petitioner’s coun-
         sel during oral argument before this court. No practical
         relief remains, therefore, in connection with those
0, 0                          CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                         Page 7

       0 Conn. App. 1                                    ,0                              9
                           Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

       claims. With respect to count five, in which the peti-
       tioner challenges the performance of his criminal trial
       counsel during his sentencing hearing, although the
       petitioner’s counsel stated during oral argument that,
       notwithstanding the completion of his sentence, the
       petitioner still purportedly seeks a new sentencing hear-
       ing, we conclude that, in light of the fact that he has
       fully served his sentence, there is no practical relief
       that can be afforded to him. Finally, with respect to
       count six, the petitioner’s counsel abandoned such
       claim during oral argument before this court. See Ayala
       v. Smith, 236 Conn. 89, 94, 671 A.2d 345 (1996) (‘‘[t]he
       determination of whether a claim has become moot is
       fact sensitive, and may include the representations
       made by the parties at oral argument’’). In sum, because
       we cannot afford the petitioner any practical relief, we
       dismiss the appeal as moot.5
          The appeal is dismissed.

          5
            We note that, in his principal appellate brief, the petitioner appeared to
       acknowledge that, ‘‘as a result of the dismissal, it is likely that the petitioner’s
       opportunity to litigate a habeas corpus case challenging the length of his
       period of incarceration—which is the issue he seeks to raise—will become
       moot, as he will have finished the sentence and parole by the time he is
       able to have a trial on the merits of his claims and may be in a position
       where practical relief is unavailable to him.’’
          In his appellee brief filed in December, 2023, the respondent agreed,
       arguing that ‘‘the appeal should be dismissed as moot after January 8, 2024,
       when the petitioner is scheduled to be discharged from the respondent’s
       custody without any special parole or probation.’’ The respondent relied on
       Patterson v. Commissioner of Correction, 112 Conn. App. 826, 964 A.2d
       1234 (2009), in which the petitioner in that case, who sought to challenge
       his classification as a ‘‘violent offender’’ by the Board of Pardons and Paroles,
       completed his sentence prior to oral argument before this court. See id.,
       828–29. This court concluded that the expiration of the petitioner’s sentence
       rendered his appeal moot and that he did not satisfy his burden to show that
       ‘‘there is a reasonable possibility that prejudicial collateral consequences
       will occur as a result of the allegedly improper classification . . . .’’ Id., 834.
          In his reply brief, the petitioner changed his position, contending that the
       completion of his sentence does not render the appeal moot. As an initial
       matter, the petitioner argues that Patterson is an outlier and instead relies
       on two cases standing for the overly broad proposition that a habeas corpus
Page 8                         CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                      0, 0

         10                          ,0                           0 Conn. App. 1
                            Hodge v. Commissioner of Correction

         action survives a petitioner’s release from custody. The petitioner’s reliance
         on those cases is misplaced, however, because in those cases, the petitioners
         brought claims challenging the legality of their convictions. See Herbert v.
         Manson, 199 Conn. 143, 144 n.1, 506 A.2d 98 (1986) (‘‘[i]n attacking the
         legality of his conviction [i.e., by alleging that his convictions of the crimes
         of sexual assault in the first degree and kidnapping in the second degree
         should be overturned because of ineffective assistance of counsel], the
         petitioner has stated a claim that survives his release from incarceration
         and parole’’); Smith v. Commissioner of Correction, 65 Conn. App. 172,
         176, 782 A.2d 201 (2001) (‘‘[i]n attacking the legality of his conviction in a
         habeas corpus action [i.e., by alleging that his guilty plea to an assault in
         the second degree charge was not made knowingly, intelligently, or volunta-
         rily], the petitioner’s claim survives his release from incarceration’’). Here,
         the petitioner’s counsel expressly acknowledged during oral argument
         before this court that the petitioner is not attacking his convictions.
            Further, the petitioner argues, in the alternative, that, even if deemed
         moot, the petitioner’s claims satisfy the capable of repetition yet likely to
         evade review exception to the mootness doctrine. See Loisel v. Rowe, 233
         Conn. 370, 382, 660 A.2d 323 (1995) (exception has three requirements: (1)
         challenged action must be of inherently limited duration; (2) there must be
         reasonable likelihood that question presented will arise again and it will
         affect either same complaining party or reasonably identifiable group for
         whom that party can be said to act as surrogate; and (3) question must have
         some public importance). This argument warrants little discussion. Instead
         of analyzing how the nature of the petitioner’s habeas claims satisfies the
         three part test for this exception set forth in Loisel, the petitioner launches
         unjustified and unsupported criticisms at the intentions of the habeas court
         and the manner in which it handles RREC related cases. Simply put, the
         petitioner has provided us with no basis on which to conclude that the three
         requirements set forth in Loisel are satisfied.
            Finally, to the extent the petitioner’s counsel attempted to invoke the
         collateral consequences exception to the mootness doctrine during oral
         argument before this court, we do not consider them because ‘‘[i]t is well
         settled that a claim cannot be raised for the first time at oral argument.’’
         (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Burton v. Dept. of Environmental Pro-
         tection, 337 Conn. 781, 797 n.12, 256 A.3d 655 (2021).