1 Conn. Cir. Ct. 161 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1961
On July 6, 1961, the defendant pleaded guilty to the crime of indecent exposure and was sentenced to pay a fine of $100 and to be confined in jail for a period of sixty days, execution of the jail term suspended, with probation for one
1. The defendant was convicted under the provisions of § 53-220 of the General Statutes, which provides for a maximum penalty of $100 or imprisonment of six months or both. In this state, there is no statute or rule of practice requiring that a court, in each instance of arraignment of an accused upon a misdemeanor, advise him of his right to obtain or have counsel before plea is entered. The defendant has pointed to no authority, in this jurisdiction or elsewhere, in support of his claim. Our law provides reasonable, just, and conscientious safeguards to protect the rights of an accused to equal protection of the law and to due process of law and, in furtherance of this long-standing policy, has extended the public defender system to the Circuit Court to serve impecunious defendants.
2. Authorities are agreed that a recorded judgment may be vacated or set aside during the term at which it was rendered, substantially at the discretion of the court. Poneleit v. Dudas, 141 Conn. 413, 416; McCulloch v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., 107 Conn. 164, 167; Tyler v. Aspinwall, 73 Conn. 493, 497. Where the term has expired, the court has no jurisdiction of the case. Hall v. Paine, 47 Conn. 429, 430. The motion being addressed to and within the discretion of the court, the exercise of that discretion will not be reviewed unless there appears a clear abuse of legal discretion. Wood v. Holah, 80 Conn. 314, 315. Both in the Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas there is but one term held annually in each county beginning in September. Clover Farms, Inc. v. Kielwasser, 134 Conn. 622, 623; see State v. LaPorta, 140 Conn. 610, 612. There are no terms of the Circuit Court, and the court is deemed continuously in session. General Statutes § 51-258. It is not necessary to consider here the question whether the statute would make permissive the opening of judgments without limitation as to time, thus defeating the purpose of finality, for here the motion was made seasonably within two months of the imposition of sentence.
3. It is the established rule that a judgment in a criminal case may be opened at any time during the
4. The claim that the defendant pleaded guilty without understanding the significance or effect of his plea amounts simply to this: that he had no knowledge of the penalty that would be imposed or the social consequences that invariably attach to the obloquy of a criminal conviction. Due process does not require that the state advise the accused of the possible legal effect of pleading guilty to a non-capital charge nor of the later consequences of such plea and conviction. United States ex rel. Farns-worth v. Murphy, 254 F.2d 438, 443 (2d Cir.).
In the present case, there is nothing to show that the defendant did not understand the language of the charge or was ignorant of the facts which gave rise to the accusation. Before sentence was pronounced, the prosecuting attorney recited the facts on which the charge was based; the defendant made no denial although he understood what was being said; he answered fully such questions as were put to him by the court; and the court indicated to him that the sentence imposed was not so much by way of penalty as out of consideration for his future supervision and guidance. There is no cause for opening the judgment.
The motion is denied.