BPS Nominated in BEST OF HARTFORD 2013

For the second year in a row Brown, Paindiris & Scott is in the running for the best Hartford area law firm. Every January the HartfordAdvocate conducts a “best of” poll where readers vote on the best bars, restaurants, salons, and of course, law firms, along with plenty of other categories. To vote for your favorite businesses, including Brown, Paindiris & Scott, visit the online ballot today!

Investigative Reporting? The Strange Tale of Manti Te'o

In one of the strangest hoaxes to hit national media coverage, Heisman candidate and Notre Dame football player, Manti Te’o was apparently duped by someone he developed a relationship with online.   According to reports, Te’o never actually met his online girlfriend, who supposedly died of cancer shortly after his grandmother passed away.  Although reporters wrote stories about the hardships with which Te’o was dealing with while in the running for the Heisman, it appears that none of the reporters made significant efforts to verify the identity or story of his girlfriend.  Te’o now says that he was the victim of a cruel hoax, and that his girlfriend, who he had never met in person, actually never existed.    However, Te’o wasn’t the only one who was duped, the media was too.

 

Officer: Do You Like Birds?

John and Judy were driving peacefully along in upstate New York when John noticed a police officer who was operating a handheld radar device on the side of the road.  John decided to show his displeasure with the officer by extending his right arm out the window and waiving to the officer . . . with only one finger.   John and Judy were not violating any traffic laws, but upon arriving at their destination they were immediately approached by police officers.  After checking Judy’s license and registration, and having a short exchange with John, John was placed under arrest for disorderly conduct.  The criminal case was eventually dismissed on speedy trial grounds.

John brought a civil action for money damages alleging that his Constitutional rights were violated by an unlawful seizure of his person.  At the trial level, summary judgment was granted to the defendants and the case dismissed.  However, in a recent decision reversing the summary judgment of the trial court the Second Circuit held that “[t]his ancient gesture of insult [i.e. giving the middle finger] is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity.”  Moreover, “such a gesture alone cannot establish probable cause to believe a disorderly conduct violation has occurred [under the New York disorderly conduct law].” 

However, while John and Judy should not have been pulled over in New York, it is impossible to know if the result would have been the same here in Connecticut.  Under Connecticut law, a Breach of Peace in the Second Degree is defined as, “with intent to cause inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof, such person . . . in a public place, uses abusive or obscene language or makes an obscene gesture; . . . "[P]ublic place" means any area that is used or held out for use by the public whether owned or operated by public or private interests” while a Connecticut case dealing with an “obscene gesture” indicated that “flipping [] the bird” qualifies as one.  Thus, while New York’s disorderly conduct law may not include gesturing, the status of Connecticut’s law on the subject is arguable.  Nonetheless, it is always advisable that while you’re in Connecticut, you should show your displeasure with speed traps by simply going the speed limit!

FISCAL CLIFF DEAL PROVIDES SOME RELIEF TO UNDERWATER HOMEOWNERS

Though the confusing and complicated nature of the “fiscal cliff” is too much for most Americans to digest, see this Pew Research Study, an important outcome of the settlement reached by Washington politicians means that homeowners who go through a short sale or foreclosure will NOT have to pay taxes on the mortgage debt forgiveness they receive. Normally, the tax code provides that forgiven debt be treated and taxed as regular income. Homeowners going through a short sale or foreclosure often find themselves with hundreds of thousands of dollars of “forgiven debt” and the tax implications would force many into even deeper financial ruin. As a result of the January 1 “fiscal cliff” deal, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act was extended for one year through the end of 2013 giving a reprieve to many worried homeowners.

Washington and Colorado Voters Legalize Marijuana

President Obama was not the only big winner after November’s election—marijuana took center stage following its legalization in two states.  Voters in Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana for general use, becoming the first states in the U.S. to do so. These measures are in direct conflict with federal law, which continues to outlaw marijuana as a dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act.  The Obama administration has signaled that federal law enforcement officials will continue to pursue trafficking and other offenses throughout the U.S.

The Colorado measure, which passed with 55% of the vote, will let residents 21 years and older grow and possess up to one ounce of marijuana.  The state will also allow marijuana sales at special stores starting in 2014.  Washington's marijuana law calls for legislators to design from scratch a homegrown industry for cultivation, processing and retailing sales of marijuana within state boundaries to people 21 or older.  The state liquor-control board will oversee licensing and inspection.

 

Connecticut, by comparison, recently became the 17^th state to legalize marijuana for medical or “palliative” use by patients with debilitating medical conditions.  The bulk of the law went into effect on October 1, 2012.  The Department of Consumer Protection will regulate the state-licensed distribution of marijuana, which includes; licensing of producers and dispensaries, registration of patients, and determination of qualifying medical conditions.  Marijuana is also “decriminalized” in Connecticut, meaning that if caught with a half-ounce or less of marijuana, you will receive a ticket, and your marijuana will be confiscated.  The first offense is a ticket for $150, with the amount of the fine increasing for each subsequent offense.

UConn Law Library Can Sue Contractors after Statute of Limitations Expired

In an interesting case that reached the Supreme Court of Connecticut, the Court reversed a lower court ruling which had prohibited the state from seeking damages from contractors that the state claimed were responsible for extensive construction and design problems with the building of University of Connecticut School of Law Library.  The state is now able to seek recovery from contractors and architects for over $15 million. The state had initially sued the builders and designers of the library in 2008.  However, the defendants believed the lawsuit should be thrown out because the state had waited 12 years before suing.  The state successfully argued that it did not have to adhere to the normal six-year statute of limitations, basing its argument on an old English legal doctrine.  The Connecticut Supreme Court sided with the state.  It remains to be seen whether future cases will be affected by the Court's ruling which essentially allowed the state to be immune from the statute of limitations normally applied to construction contracts.

A link to the Courant article on the current can be found here: http://articles.courant.com/2012-11-02/news/hc-uconn-library-legal-battle-1103-20121102_1_time-limit-nullum-tempus-liability

Begging your Pardon? Witchcraft in Colonial Connecticut.

 

For a person who has been convicted of a crime in the state of Connecticut to have their record cleared, they must make an application for a pardon to the Board of Pardons and Parole, which is a subdivision of the state Department of Corrections.   Whether a pardon will be granted depends heavily on the seriousness of the criminal offense and the circumstances surrounding and following the conviction.  But what happens when the conviction was hundreds of years ago?  Connecticut was the first colony to execute an individual convicted of witchcraft in the 17^th century.  Goodwife Bessett confessed to witchcraft (undoubtedly under conditions which would constitute duress today) and hanged in Stratford, Connecticut in 1651 (more than forty years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials which occurred in present day Danvers, Massachusetts.) 

However, some Connecticut residents are searching for redemption for some of those wrongly accused and executed so long ago.  A retired police Sergeant from New Haven, Mr. Tony Grieco, is seeking community support for the issuance of pardons on behalf of 11 named individuals who were executed as witches in Connecticut.  As quoted by WTNH.com, “Grieco says many of the so-called witches were tried, convicted, and executed at the old State House in Hartford. The first one was hung from a tree and buried in a hole back in 1647.”  Mr. Grieco takes issue with the fact that "[m]ost of the people who were accused had no defense attorneys [and] their trails were based on accusation from neighbors."

Unfortunately for Mr. Grieco and the tarnished reputations of the Connecticut witches, Governor Dan Malloy lacks the power to grant such a pardon request, and representatives of the Queen of England (as England ruled colonial Connecticut in the 17^th century) simply do not have enough information to act on Mr. Grieco’s request.  It seems for the foreseeable future, the witches will remain on the books. 

Happy Halloween!