192 Conn. 532 | Conn. | 1984
The state brought this action to recover expenses for the care of Benjamin F. Miller, Jr., at Whiting Forensic Institute, a state institution for the care of mentally ill persons, where he had been confined since January 31, 1973. His commitment to Whiting resulted from his acquittal of a murder charge by reason of insanity and from orders, pursuant to General Statutes § 53a-47, that he remain there until he was no longer “mentally ill to the extent that his release would constitute a danger to himself or others.”
The first count of the complaint claims damages against the defendant Martha C. Miller as executrix
The issues presented by the defendant’s appeal are (1) whether the view expressed in the memorandum ruling upon the demurrer, Covello, J., that any recovery upon the second count would be limited to a current support order, constituted the law of the case and controlled the disposition of the second count; (2) whether 42 U.S.C. § 407, as construed in Philpott v. Essex County Welfare Board, 409 U.S. 413, 93 S. Ct. 590, 34 L. Ed. 2d 608 (1973), prohibits the state from collecting its charges for the care and treatment of a patient at a state mental hospital from the representative payee of the patient’s social security benefits; and (3) whether General Statutes §§ 17-317 and 53a-47 (g), which the state relies upon as authority for the imposition of confinement expenses upon persons committed to a state mental hospital after an acquittal by reason of insanity, are unconstitutional because they violate federal and state constitutional guarantees of equal protection of the laws. The issue of the effect of 42 U.S.C. § 407 is
It is clear that the equal protection issue was first raised on appeal. The defendant does not claim to have brought it to the attention of the trial court. “Only in most exceptional circumstances can and will this court consider a claim, constitutional or otherwise, that has not been raised and decided in the trial court.” State v. Evans, 165 Conn. 61, 69, 327 A.2d 576 (1973). The exceptional circumstance present here is, of course, our decision in State v. Reed, supra, which has just been announced. We have recognized that “where a new constitutional right not readily foreseeable has arisen between the time of trial and appeal” a newly raised claim asserting such a right should be considered on appeal. State v. Evans, supra, 70. The defendant’s claim qualifies under this exception. She was not bound to foresee the advent of the “new constitutional right” resulting from an application of the equal protection clause in State v. Reed, supra, to invalidate statutes never previously challenged. The circumstance that the constitutional right involved here arose after the taking of the appeal rather than “between the time of trial and appeal” does not make the exception unavailable. Furthermore, “[w]hile we are not bound to consider a matter . . . unless it is properly raised as required by Practice Book § [3063], we have on occasion considered a question not so raised, not by reason of the
Having concluded that the defendant’s equal protection claim should be decided on its merits, we must decide whether this case can be distinguished from State v. Reed, supra. The period for which the state seeks reimbursement here extends from February 1, 1973, following Benjamin F. Miller, Jr.’s commitment upon his acquittal because of insanity, until September 28, 1981, the trial date of this case. In Reed the period of confinement pursuant to § 53a-47 was November 1, 1974, to June 15, 1976, and our determination that the statutes, §§ 17-317 and 53a-47 (g), imposing liability for hospital costs on insanity acquittees held under an order of confinement violated the equal protection clause was based upon the statutory provisions in existence during that period.
It appears that the statutes declared unconstitutional in Reed, §§ 17-317 and 53a-47 (g), have remained substantially unchanged since long before 1973.
The adoption effective in 1977 of a new test for civil commitment, “mentally ill and dangerous to himself or herself or others or gravely disabled,” leaves no
The use of a less demanding measure of the quantum of evidence required for confinement under § 53a-47 has been constitutionally justified because of the unique status of persons acquitted by reason of insanity. “The obvious difference between insanity acquittees and other persons facing commitment is the fact that the former have been found, beyond a reasonable doubt, to have committed a criminal act.” Warren v. Harvey, 632 F.2d 925, 931 (2d Cir. 1980); State v. Warren, 169 Conn. 207, 215, 363 A.2d 91 (1975). “While the acquit-tee therefore may be deprived erroneously of his liberty in the commitment process, the liberty he loses is likely to be liberty which society mistakenly had permitted him to retain in the criminal process.” Warren v. Harvey, supra, 931; United States v. Brown, 478 F.2d 606, 610 (D.C. Cir. 1973); see Lynch v. Overholser, 369 U.S. 705, 715, 82 S. Ct. 1063, 8 L. Ed. 2d 211 (1962).
Our present concern is not with the justification for the difference in standards related to depriving insanity acquittees of their liberty as compared to persons civilly committed, but with the significance of this difference
There is no error on the cross appeal; there is error on the appeal, the judgment is set aside and the case is remanded to the trial court with direction to render judgment for the defendant.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
General Statutes § 17-317 was last amended in 1958. Public Acts 1958, No. 27, § 6. General Statutes § 53a-47 (g) was redesignated § 53a-47 (h) in 1981. Public Acts 1981, No. 81-301, § 2.
In 1975, within the period involved in Reed, General Statutes § 53a-47 was amended by adding subsection (i), presently subsection (j), which required the court to determine whether an insanity acquittee should be confined under conditions of maximum security and, if so, prohibited his
The 1976 amendments did not become effective until October 1,1977. Public Acts 1977, No. 77-4; see Public Acts 1976, No. 76-227, § 7.
General Statutes § 17-192 has been amended to expand the opportunity of a person civilly committed to seek his release in the Probate Court by providing for notice of certain rights and, for indigents, appointed counsel and court expenses. Public Acts 1979, No. 79-515, § 5.