Sec. 54-56d. (Formerly Sec. 54-40). Competency to stand trial.
Sec. 54-56e. (Formerly Sec. 54-76p). Accelerated pretrial rehabilitation.
Sec. 54-56g. Pretrial alcohol education program.
Sec. 54-56i. Pretrial drug education and community service program.
Sec. 54-56j. Pretrial school violence prevention program.
Sec. 54-56d. (Formerly Sec. 54-40). Competency to stand trial. (a) Competency requirement. Definition. A defendant shall not be tried, convicted or sentenced while the defendant is not competent. For the purposes of this section, a defendant is not competent if the defendant is unable to understand the proceedings against him or her or to assist in his or her own defense.
(b) Presumption of competency. A defendant is presumed to be competent. The burden of proving that the defendant is not competent by a preponderance of the evidence and the burden of going forward with the evidence are on the party raising the issue. The burden of going forward with the evidence shall be on the state if the court raises the issue. The court may call its own witnesses and conduct its own inquiry.
(c) Request for examination. If, at any time during a criminal proceeding, it appears that the defendant is not competent, counsel for the defendant or for the state, or the court, on its own motion, may request an examination to determine the defendant's competency.
(d) Examination of defendant. Report. If the court finds that the request for an examination is justified and that, in accordance with procedures established by the judges of the Superior Court, there is probable cause to believe that the defendant has committed the crime for which the defendant is charged, the court shall order an examination of the defendant as to his or her competency. The court may (1) appoint one or more physicians specializing in psychiatry to examine the defendant, or (2) order the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services to conduct the examination either (A) by a clinical team consisting of a physician specializing in psychiatry, a clinical psychologist and one of the following: A clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 383b or a psychiatric nurse clinical specialist holding a master's degree in nursing, or (B) by one or more physicians specializing in psychiatry, except that no employee of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services who has served as a member of a clinical team in the course of such employment for at least five years prior to October 1, 1995, shall be precluded from being appointed as a member of a clinical team. If the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services is ordered to conduct the examination, the commissioner shall select the members of the clinical team or the physician or physicians. When performing an examination under this section, the examiners shall have access to information on treatment dates and locations in the defendant's treatment history contained in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' database of treatment episodes for the purpose of requesting a release of treatment information from the defendant. If the examiners determine that the defendant is not competent, the examiners shall then determine whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the maximum period of any placement order under this section. If the examiners determine that there is a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the maximum period of any placement order under this section, the examiners shall then determine whether the defendant appears to be eligible for civil commitment, with monitoring by the Court Support Services Division, pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section. If the examiners determine that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the maximum period of any placement order under this section, the examiners shall then determine whether the defendant appears to be eligible for civil commitment to a hospital for psychiatric disabilities pursuant to subsection (m) of this section and make a recommendation to the court regarding the appropriateness of such civil commitment. The court may authorize a physician specializing in psychiatry, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 383b or a psychiatric nurse clinical specialist holding a master's degree in nursing selected by the defendant to observe the examination. Counsel for the defendant may observe the examination. The examination shall be completed within fifteen business days from the date it was ordered and the examiners shall prepare and sign, without notarization, a written report and file such report with the court within twenty-one business days of the date of the order. On receipt of the written report, the clerk of the court shall cause copies to be delivered immediately to the state's attorney and to counsel for the defendant.
(e) Hearing. Evidence. The court shall hold a hearing as to the competency of the defendant not later than ten days after the court receives the written report. Any evidence regarding the defendant's competency, including the written report, may be introduced at the hearing by either the defendant or the state, except that no treatment information contained in the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services' database of treatment episodes may be included in the written report or introduced at the hearing unless the defendant released the treatment information pursuant to subsection (d) of this section. If the written report is introduced, at least one of the examiners shall be present to testify as to the determinations in the report, unless the examiner's presence is waived by the defendant and the state. Any member of the clinical team shall be considered competent to testify as to the team's determinations. A defendant and the defendant's counsel may waive the court hearing only if the examiners, in the written report, determine without qualification that the defendant is competent. Nothing in this subsection shall limit any other release or use of information from said database permitted by law.
(f) Court finding of competency or incompetency. If the court, after the hearing, finds that the defendant is competent, the court shall continue with the criminal proceedings. If the court finds that the defendant is not competent, the court shall also find whether there is a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the maximum period of any placement order permitted under this section.
(g) Court procedure if finding that defendant will not regain competency. If, at the hearing, the court finds that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the period of any placement order under this section, the court shall follow the procedure set forth in subsection (m) of this section.
(h) Court procedure if finding that defendant will regain competency. Placement of defendant for treatment or pending civil commitment proceedings. Progress report. (1) If, at the hearing, the court finds that there is a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will regain competency within the period of any placement order under this section, the court shall either (A) order placement of the defendant for treatment for the purpose of rendering the defendant competent, or (B) order placement of the defendant at a treatment facility pending civil commitment proceedings pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, if the court makes a finding pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection and does not order placement pursuant to subparagraph (A) of said subdivision, the court shall, on its own motion or on motion of the state or the defendant, order placement of the defendant in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services at a treatment facility pending civil commitment proceedings. The treatment facility shall be determined by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Such order shall: (i) Include an authorization for the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services to apply for civil commitment of such defendant pursuant to sections 17a-495 to 17a-528, inclusive; (ii) permit the defendant to agree to request voluntarily to be admitted under section 17a-506 and participate voluntarily in a treatment plan prepared by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and require that the defendant comply with such treatment plan; and (iii) provide that if the application for civil commitment is denied or not pursued by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or if the defendant is unwilling or unable to comply with a treatment plan despite reasonable efforts of the treatment facility to encourage the defendant's compliance, the person in charge of the treatment facility, or such person's designee, shall submit a written progress report to the court and the defendant shall be returned to the court for a hearing pursuant to subsection (k) of this section. Such written progress report shall include the status of any civil commitment proceedings concerning the defendant, the defendant's compliance with the treatment plan, an opinion regarding the defendant's current competency to stand trial, the clinical findings of the person submitting the report and the facts upon which the findings are based, and any other information concerning the defendant requested by the court, including, but not limited to, the method of treatment or the type, dosage and effect of any medication the defendant is receiving. The Court Support Services Division shall monitor the defendant's compliance with any applicable provisions of such order. The period of placement and monitoring under such order shall not exceed the period of the maximum sentence which the defendant could receive on conviction of the charges against such defendant, or eighteen months, whichever is less. If the defendant has complied with such treatment plan and any applicable provisions of such order, at the end of the period of placement and monitoring, the court shall approve the entry of a nolle prosequi to the charges against the defendant or shall dismiss such charges.
(B) This subdivision shall not apply: (i) To any person charged with a class A felony, a class B felony, except a violation of section 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, or a violation of section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or section 14-227a or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-56b, 53a-60d, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b; (ii) to any person charged with a crime or motor vehicle violation who, as a result of the commission of such crime or motor vehicle violation, causes the death of another person; or (iii) unless good cause is shown, to any person charged with a class C felony.
(i) Placement for treatment. Conditions. The placement of the defendant for treatment for the purpose of rendering the defendant competent shall comply with the following conditions: (1) The period of placement under the order or combination of orders shall not exceed the period of the maximum sentence which the defendant could receive on conviction of the charges against the defendant or eighteen months, whichever is less; (2) the placement shall be either (A) in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services, except that any defendant placed for treatment with the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services may remain in the custody of the Department of Correction pursuant to subsection (p) of this section; or, (B) if the defendant or the appropriate commissioner agrees to provide payment, in the custody of any appropriate mental health facility or treatment program which agrees to provide treatment to the defendant and to adhere to the requirements of this section; and (3) the court shall order the placement, on either an inpatient or an outpatient basis, which the court finds is the least restrictive placement appropriate and available to restore competency. If outpatient treatment is the least restrictive placement for a defendant who has not yet been released from a correctional facility, the court shall consider whether the availability of such treatment is a sufficient basis on which to release the defendant on a promise to appear, conditions of release, cash bail or bond. If the court determines that the defendant may not be so released, the court shall order treatment of the defendant on an inpatient basis at a mental health facility or facility for persons with intellectual disability. Not later than twenty-four hours after the court orders placement of the defendant for treatment for the purpose of rendering the defendant competent, the examiners shall transmit information obtained about the defendant during the course of an examination pursuant to subsection (d) of this section to the health care provider named in the court's order.
(j) Progress reports re treatment. The person in charge of the treatment facility, or such person's designee, or the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services with respect to any defendant who is in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction pursuant to subsection (p) of this section, shall submit a written progress report to the court (1) at least seven days prior to the date of any hearing on the issue of the defendant's competency; (2) whenever he or she believes that the defendant has attained competency; (3) whenever he or she believes that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will attain competency within the period covered by the placement order; (4) whenever, within the first one hundred twenty days of the period covered by the placement order, he or she believes that the defendant would be eligible for civil commitment pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section; or (5) whenever he or she believes that the defendant is still not competent but has improved sufficiently such that continued inpatient commitment is no longer the least restrictive placement appropriate and available to restore competency. The progress report shall contain: (A) The clinical findings of the person submitting the report and the facts on which the findings are based; (B) the opinion of the person submitting the report as to whether the defendant has attained competency or as to whether the defendant is making progress, under treatment, toward attaining competency within the period covered by the placement order; (C) the opinion of the person submitting the report as to whether the defendant appears to be eligible for civil commitment to a hospital for psychiatric disabilities pursuant to subsection (m) of this section and the appropriateness of such civil commitment, if there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will attain competency within the period covered by the placement order; and (D) any other information concerning the defendant requested by the court, including, but not limited to, the method of treatment or the type, dosage and effect of any medication the defendant is receiving. Not later than five business days after the court finds either that the defendant will not attain competency within the period of any placement order under this section or that the defendant has regained competency, the person in charge of the treatment facility, or such person's designee, or the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services with respect to any defendant who is in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction pursuant to subsection (p) of this section, shall provide a copy of the written progress report to the examiners who examined the defendant pursuant to subsection (d) of this section.
(k) Reconsideration of competency. Hearing. Involuntary medication. Appointment and duties of health care guardian. (1) Whenever any placement order for treatment is rendered or continued, the court shall set a date for a hearing, to be held within ninety days, for reconsideration of the issue of the defendant's competency. Whenever the court (A) receives a report pursuant to subsection (j) of this section which indicates that (i) the defendant has attained competency, (ii) the defendant will not attain competency within the remainder of the period covered by the placement order, (iii) the defendant will not attain competency within the remainder of the period covered by the placement order absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent, (iv) the defendant would be eligible for civil commitment pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section, or (v) the defendant is still not competent but has improved sufficiently such that continued inpatient commitment is no longer the least restrictive placement appropriate and available to restore competency, or (B) receives a report pursuant to subparagraph (A)(iii) of subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section which indicates that (i) the application for civil commitment of the defendant has been denied or has not been pursued by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, or (ii) the defendant is unwilling or unable to comply with a treatment plan despite reasonable efforts of the treatment facility to encourage the defendant's compliance, the court shall set the matter for a hearing not later than ten days after the report is received. The hearing may be waived by the defendant only if the report indicates that the defendant is competent. With respect to a defendant who is in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction pursuant to subsection (p) of this section, the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall retain responsibility for providing testimony at any hearing under this subsection. The court shall determine whether the defendant is competent or is making progress toward attaining competency within the period covered by the placement order. If the court finds that the defendant is competent, the defendant shall be returned to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction or released, if the defendant has met the conditions for release, and the court shall continue with the criminal proceedings. If the court finds that the defendant is still not competent but that the defendant is making progress toward attaining competency, the court may continue or modify the placement order. If the court finds that the defendant is still not competent but that the defendant is making progress toward attaining competency and inpatient placement is no longer the least restrictive placement appropriate and available to restore competency, the court shall consider whether the availability of such less restrictive placement is a sufficient basis on which to release the defendant on a promise to appear, conditions of release, cash bail or bond and may order continued treatment to restore competency on an outpatient basis. If the court finds that the defendant is still not competent and will not attain competency within the remainder of the period covered by the placement order absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent, the court shall proceed as provided in subdivisions (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection. If the court finds that the defendant is eligible for civil commitment, the court may order placement of the defendant at a treatment facility pending civil commitment proceedings pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section.
(2) If the court finds that the defendant will not attain competency within the remainder of the period covered by the placement order absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent, and after any hearing held pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection, the court may order the involuntary medication of the defendant if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that: (A) To a reasonable degree of medical certainty, involuntary medication of the defendant will render the defendant competent to stand trial, (B) an adjudication of guilt or innocence cannot be had using less intrusive means, (C) the proposed treatment plan is narrowly tailored to minimize intrusion on the defendant's liberty and privacy interests, (D) the proposed drug regimen will not cause an unnecessary risk to the defendant's health, and (E) the seriousness of the alleged crime is such that the criminal law enforcement interest of the state in fairly and accurately determining the defendant's guilt or innocence overrides the defendant's interest in self-determination.
(3) (A) If the court finds that the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent for the administration of psychiatric medication, and prior to deciding whether to order the involuntary medication of the defendant under subdivision (2) of this subsection, the court shall appoint a health care guardian who shall be a licensed health care provider with specialized training in the treatment of persons with psychiatric disabilities to represent the health care interests of the defendant before the court. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 52-146e, such health care guardian shall have access to the psychiatric records of the defendant. Such health care guardian shall file a report with the court not later than thirty days after his or her appointment. The report shall set forth such health care guardian's findings and recommendations concerning the administration of psychiatric medication to the defendant, including the risks and benefits of such medication, the likelihood and seriousness of any adverse side effects and the prognosis with and without such medication. The court shall hold a hearing on the matter not later than ten days after receipt of such health care guardian's report and shall, in deciding whether to order the involuntary medication of the defendant, take into account such health care guardian's opinion concerning the health care interests of the defendant.
(B) The court, in anticipation of considering continued involuntary medication of the defendant under subdivision (4) of this subsection, shall order the health care guardian to file a supplemental report updating the findings and recommendations contained in the health care guardian's report filed under subparagraph (A) of this subdivision.
(4) If, after the defendant has been found to have attained competency by means of involuntary medication ordered under subdivision (2) of this subsection, the court determines by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant will not remain competent absent the continued administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unable to provide consent, and after any hearing held pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection and consideration of the supplemental report of the health care guardian, the court may order continued involuntary medication of the defendant if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that: (A) To a reasonable degree of medical certainty, continued involuntary medication of the defendant will maintain the defendant's competency to stand trial, (B) an adjudication of guilt or innocence cannot be had using less intrusive means, (C) the proposed treatment plan is narrowly tailored to minimize intrusion on the defendant's liberty and privacy interests, (D) the proposed drug regimen will not cause an unnecessary risk to the defendant's health, and (E) the seriousness of the alleged crime is such that the criminal law enforcement interest of the state in fairly and accurately determining the defendant's guilt or innocence overrides the defendant's interest in self-determination. Continued involuntary medication ordered under this subdivision may be administered to the defendant while the criminal charges against the defendant are pending and the defendant is in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction or the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services. An order for continued involuntary medication of the defendant under this subdivision shall be reviewed by the court every one hundred eighty days while such order remains in effect. The court shall order the health care guardian to file a supplemental report for each such review. After any hearing held pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection and consideration of the supplemental report of the health care guardian, the court may continue such order if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the criteria enumerated in subparagraphs (A) to (E), inclusive, of this subdivision are met.
(5) The state shall hold harmless and indemnify any health care guardian appointed by the court pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection from financial loss and expense arising out of any claim, demand, suit or judgment by reason of such health care guardian's alleged negligence or alleged deprivation of any person's civil rights or other act or omission resulting in damage or injury, provided the health care guardian is found to have been acting in the discharge of his or her duties pursuant to said subdivision and such act or omission is found not to have been wanton, reckless or malicious. The provisions of subsections (b), (c) and (d) of section 5-141d shall apply to such health care guardian. The provisions of chapter 53 shall not apply to a claim against such health care guardian.
(l) Failure of defendant to return to treatment facility in accordance with terms and conditions of release. If a defendant who has been ordered placed for treatment on an inpatient basis at a mental health facility or a facility for persons with intellectual disability is released from such facility on a furlough or for work, therapy or any other reason and fails to return to the facility in accordance with the terms and conditions of the defendant's release, the person in charge of the facility, or such person's designee, shall, within twenty-four hours of the defendant's failure to return, report such failure to the prosecuting authority for the court location which ordered the placement of the defendant. Upon receipt of such a report, the prosecuting authority shall, within available resources, make reasonable efforts to notify any victim or victims of the crime for which the defendant is charged of such defendant's failure to return to the facility. No civil liability shall be incurred by the state or the prosecuting authority for failure to notify any victim or victims in accordance with this subsection. The failure of a defendant to return to the facility in which the defendant has been placed may constitute sufficient cause for the defendant's rearrest upon order by the court.
(m) Release or placement of defendant who will not attain competency. Report to court prior to release from placement. (1) If at any time the court determines that there is not a substantial probability that the defendant will attain competency within the period of treatment allowed by this section, or if at the end of such period the court finds that the defendant is still not competent, the court shall consider any recommendation made by the examiners pursuant to subsection (d) of this section and any opinion submitted by the treatment facility pursuant to subparagraph (C) of subsection (j) of this section regarding eligibility for, and the appropriateness of, civil commitment to a hospital for psychiatric disabilities and shall either release the defendant from custody or order the defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services. If the court orders the defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services, the commissioner given custody, or the commissioner's designee, shall then apply for civil commitment in accordance with sections 17a-75 to 17a-83, inclusive, or 17a-270 to 17a-282, inclusive. If the court orders the defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the court may order the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, to apply for civil commitment in accordance with sections 17a-495 to 17a-528, inclusive, or order the commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, to provide services to the defendant in a less restrictive setting, provided the examiners have determined in the written report filed pursuant to subsection (d) of this section or have testified pursuant to subsection (e) of this section that such services are available and appropriate. If the court orders the defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and orders the commissioner to apply for civil commitment pursuant to this subsection, the court may order the commissioner to give the court notice when the defendant is released from the commissioner's custody if such release is prior to the expiration of the time within which the defendant may be prosecuted for the crime with which the defendant is charged, provided such order indicates when such time expires. If the court orders the defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Developmental Services for purposes of commitment under any provision of sections 17a-270 to 17a-282, inclusive, the court may order the Commissioner of Developmental Services to give the court notice when the defendant's commitment is terminated if such termination is prior to the expiration of the time within which the defendant may be prosecuted for the crime with which the defendant is charged, provided such order indicates when such time expires.
(2) The court shall hear arguments as to whether the defendant should be released or should be placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services.
(3) If the court orders the release of a defendant charged with the commission of a crime that resulted in the death or serious physical injury, as defined in section 53a-3, of another person, or with a violation of section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53a-60 or section 53a-60a, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b, or orders the placement of such defendant in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the Commissioner of Developmental Services, the court may, on its own motion or on motion of the prosecuting authority, order, as a condition of such release or placement, periodic examinations of the defendant as to the defendant's competency at intervals of not less than six months. If, at any time after the initial periodic examination, the court finds again, based upon an examiner's recommendation, that there is a substantial probability that the defendant, if provided with a course of treatment, will never regain competency, then any subsequent periodic examination of the defendant as to the defendant's competency shall be at intervals of not less than eighteen months. Such an examination shall be conducted in accordance with subsection (d) of this section. Periodic examinations ordered by the court under this subsection shall continue until the court finds that the defendant has attained competency or until the time within which the defendant may be prosecuted for the crime with which the defendant is charged, as provided in section 54-193, has expired, whichever occurs first.
(4) Upon receipt of the written report as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the court shall, upon the request of either party filed not later than thirty days after the court receives such report, conduct a hearing as provided in subsection (e) of this section. Such hearing shall be held not later than ninety days after the court receives such report. If the court finds that the defendant has attained competency, the defendant shall be returned to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction or released, if the defendant has met the conditions for release, and the court shall continue with the criminal proceedings.
(5) The court shall dismiss, with or without prejudice, any charges for which a nolle prosequi is not entered when the time within which the defendant may be prosecuted for the crime with which the defendant is charged, as provided in section 54-193, has expired. Notwithstanding the record erasure provisions of section 54-142a, police and court records and records of any state's attorney pertaining to a charge which is nolled or dismissed without prejudice while the defendant is not competent shall not be erased until the time for the prosecution of the defendant expires under section 54-193. A defendant who is not civilly committed as a result of an application made by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services pursuant to this section shall be released. A defendant who is civilly committed pursuant to such an application shall be treated in the same manner as any other civilly committed person.
(n) Payment of costs. The cost of the examination effected by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and of testimony of persons conducting the examination effected by the commissioner shall be paid by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. The cost of the examination and testimony by physicians appointed by the court shall be paid by the Judicial Department. If the defendant is indigent, the fee of the person selected by the defendant to observe the examination and to testify on the defendant's behalf shall be paid by the Public Defender Services Commission. The expense of treating a defendant placed in the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, the Commissioner of Children and Families or the Commissioner of Developmental Services pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (h) of this section or subsection (i) of this section shall be computed and paid for in the same manner as is provided for persons committed by a probate court under the provisions of sections 17b-122, 17b-124 to 17b-132, inclusive, 17b-136 to 17b-138, inclusive, 17b-194 to 17b-197, inclusive, 17b-222 to 17b-250, inclusive, 17b-263, 17b-340 to 17b-350, inclusive, 17b-689b and 17b-743 to 17b-747, inclusive.
(o) Custody of defendant prior to hearing. Until the hearing is held, the defendant, if not released on a promise to appear, conditions of release, cash bail or bond, shall remain in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction unless hospitalized as provided in sections 17a-512 to 17a-517, inclusive.
(p) Placement of defendant who presents significant security, safety or medical risk. Defendant remaining in custody of Commissioner of Correction. (1) This section shall not be construed to require the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services to place any defendant who presents a significant security, safety or medical risk in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities which does not have the trained staff, facilities or security to accommodate such a person, as determined by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services in consultation with the Commissioner of Correction.
(2) If a defendant is placed for treatment with the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services pursuant to subsection (i) of this section and such defendant is not placed in a hospital for psychiatric disabilities pursuant to a determination made by the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services under subdivision (1) of this subsection, the defendant shall remain in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction. The Commissioner of Correction shall be responsible for the medical and psychiatric care of the defendant, and the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall remain responsible to provide other appropriate services to restore competency.
(3) If a defendant remains in the custody of the Commissioner of Correction pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection and the court finds that the defendant is still not competent and will not attain competency within the remainder of the period covered by the placement order absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent, the court shall proceed as provided in subdivisions (2), (3) and (4) of subsection (k) of this section. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent the court from making any other finding or order set forth in subsection (k) of this section.
(q) Defense of defendant prior to trial. This section shall not prevent counsel for the defendant from raising, prior to trial and while the defendant is not competent, any issue susceptible of fair determination.
(r) Credit for time in confinement on inpatient basis. Actual time spent in confinement on an inpatient basis pursuant to this section shall be credited against any sentence imposed on the defendant in the pending criminal case or in any other case arising out of the same conduct in the same manner as time is credited for time spent in a correctional facility awaiting trial.
(1949 Rev., S. 8748; 1959, P.A. 523, S. 2; 1967, P.A. 670; 1969, P.A. 828, S. 213; P.A. 74-306, S. 1-4; P.A. 75-476, S. 1-3, 6; P.A. 76-353; 76-436, S. 532, 681; P.A. 77-415, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-280, S. 117, 127; P.A. 80-313, S. 32; P.A. 81-365; P.A. 83-183, S. 1-5; P.A. 84-506; P.A. 85-288; 85-613, S. 79, 154; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; P.A. 94-27, S. 16, 17; P.A. 95-146; 95-257, S. 11, 58; P.A. 96-90; 96-180, S. 128, 166; 96-215, S. 3, 4; P.A. 98-88, S. 1, 2; P.A. 01-41; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 13-17, 97; P.A. 04-28, S. 1; 04-76, S. 57; P.A. 05-19, S. 2, 3; P.A. 06-36, S. 1; P.A. 07-71, S. 1; 07-73, S. 2(b); 07-153, S. 1; P.A. 09-79, S. 1; P.A. 10-28, S. 1; P.A. 11-15, S. 1, 2; 11-129, S. 19; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1, S. 142; P.A. 16-126, S. 31; P.A. 18-134, S. 1; P.A. 19-16, S. 20, 21; 19-118, S. 39; 19-189, S. 23, 24.)
History: 1959 act added provision re computation and payment of hospital expense during confinement; 1967 act divided section into Subsecs., added qualification of inability to assist in his own defense to Subsecs. (a) and (c) and authority of judge to act on his own motion in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) to make mandatory the appointment of at least two psychiatrists rather than discretionary appointment of two or three physicians to examine accused and added provisions re commitment to state hospital for mental illness for examination, re physician's witnessing of examination and re filing of examination report; 1969 act added Subsec. (d) re maximum periods of commitment; P.A. 74-306 amended Subsec. (b) to make judge's appointment of examiners optional rather than mandatory, to change number appointed from “at least two” to “one or more”, to replace provision re commitment to state hospital with provisions re commitment to commissioner of mental health and examination by clinical team, to impose 15-day deadline for filing written report, to require hearing and to specify when hearing may be waived, amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to reflect changes in Subsec. (b), imposing 15-day deadline for hearing in Subsec. (c) and provision re application of Sec. 17-197 in Subsec. (d), and added Subsecs. (e) and (f) re commitment of violent person and re cost of examinations; P.A. 75-476 restated and clarified Subsec. (b) adding procedural details and limiting examinations to a determination of accused's ability to understand proceeding and assist in his own defense where previously determination was of accused's “mental condition”, made similar changes in Subsec. (c), eliminating references to insanity and mental defectiveness and deleting provision stating that expenses are to be paid in same manner as expenses in superior court criminal prosecutions, and amended Subsec. (d) to replace previous provisions re maximum commitment for period equaling maximum sentence for the particular crime or for 25 years if case involves class A felony with maximum commitment period of 18 months, to make changes conforming provisions to changes in Subsecs. (b) and (c) and to add provisions re hearing procedure and options to proceed with trial, reconfine accused, etc.; P.A. 76-353 amended Subsec. (b) to set 10-day deadline for hearing where previously “prompt” hearing was required, amended Subsec. (c) to add references to commissioner of mental retardation, to require hearing within ten rather than 15 days and to add reference to possibility that accused will not be able to understand proceeding and assist in his own defense within remainder of commitment period, amended Subsec. (d) to conform with changes in Subsec. (c) and to restore optional maximum commitment for maximum period of sentence which may be imposed for the crime he is accused of and repealed Subsecs. (e) and (f) by omission; P.A. 76-436 amended section to reflect substitution of assistant state's attorneys for prosecuting attorneys, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-415 restated provisions, reorganized Subsecs. and added Subsecs. (f) and (g) restoring provisions omitted by P.A. 76-353; P.A. 78-280 made technical grammatical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 80-313 restated and reordered provisions, and revised subsection divisions but made no substantive changes; Sec. 54-40 transferred to Sec. 54-56d in 1981; P.A. 81-365 replaced previous section which was declared unconstitutional; P.A. 83-183 authorized placement of defendant in custody of children and youth services commissioner in Subsecs. (g), (i), (l) and (m) and specified that court may order treatment at mental retardation facilities in Subsec. (i); P.A. 84-506 amended Subsec. (d) to require the examiner to “prepare and sign, without notarization” a written report and file it with the court within 10 days of the examination, amended Subsec. (g) to replace provision requiring court to either release the defendant or place him in the custody of the commissioner of mental health, children and youth services or mental retardation with provision that the court shall “follow the procedure set forth in Subsec. (m)”, added a new Subsec. (l) re the responsibilities of the person in charge of a treatment facility and the prosecuting authority when a defendant fails to return to such facility, and relettered remaining Subsecs. accordingly; P.A. 85-288 amended Subsec. (m) to provide that the court shall dismiss, with or without prejudice, any charges for which a nolle prosequi is not entered when the time within which the defendant may be prosecuted for the crime with which he is charged has expired; P.A. 85-613 made technical change in Subsec. (m), substituting reference to chapter 368t for reference to chapter 365a; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-27 amended Subsec. (m) to delete reference to Secs. 17a-580 to 17a-603, inclusive, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-146 amended Subsec. (d) to revise the composition of the clinical team by replacing “a psychiatric social worker” with “one of the following: A clinical independent social worker certified pursuant to chapter 383b or a psychiatric nurse clinical specialist holding a master's degree in nursing”, to add exception re appointment of an employee of the Department of Mental Health as a member of a clinical team, to revise the list of professionals authorized to observe the examination by deleting “a psychiatric social worker” and adding “a clinical independent social worker certified pursuant to chapter 383b or a psychiatric nurse clinical specialist holding a master's degree in nursing” and to require the report to be filed within 21 business days of the “date of the order” rather than within 10 days of the “completion of the examination”; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Mental Health with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-90 amended Subsec. (m) to delete references to Secs. 17a-450 to 17a-484, inclusive, 17a-540 to 17a-550, inclusive, 17a-560 to 17a-576, inclusive, 17a-615 to 17a-618, inclusive, and 46a-11a to 46a-11g, inclusive; P.A. 96-180 made technical changes in Subsec. (d) by replacing references to “clinical independent social worker certified pursuant to chapter 383b” with “clinical social worker licensed pursuant to chapter 383b”, effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 96-215 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “clear and convincing” evidence and inserting “preponderance of the” evidence in lieu thereof, effective June 4, 1996; (Revisor's note: In 1997 the references to “17b-115 to 17b-138” and “17b-689 to 17b-693, inclusive,” in Subsec. (n) were changed editorially by the Revisors to “17b-116 to 17b-138” and “17b-689, 17b-689b”, respectively, to reflect the repeal of certain sections by Sec. 164 of June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-2); P.A. 98-88 amended Subsec. (k) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1), redesignating former Subdivs. (1) and (2) as Subparas. (A) and (B), respectively, adding Subpara. (C) re a report that the defendant will not attain competency absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent and adding provision requiring the court to proceed as provided in Subdivs. (2) and (3) if it finds that the defendant will not attain competency absent administration of psychiatric medication for which the defendant is unwilling or unable to provide consent, to add new Subdiv. (2) authorizing the court to order the involuntary medication of the defendant if it makes certain findings by clear and convincing evidence, and to add new Subdiv. (3) requiring the appointment of a licensed health care provider to represent the health care interests of the defendant if the defendant is unable to provide consent for the administration of psychiatric medication, requiring such person to file a report with the court setting forth his findings and recommendations re the administration of psychiatric medication to the defendant and requiring the court to hold a hearing on the matter and consider such person's opinion in deciding whether to order the involuntary medication of the defendant, and amended Subsec. (m) to authorize a court when it releases a defendant charged with a crime that resulted in the death or serious physical injury of another person to order periodic examinations of the defendant, set forth the procedure for conducting such an examination and a subsequent hearing by the court, require the continuation of criminal proceedings if the defendant is found to have attained competency, specify the duration of such periodic examinations and add references to Sec. 54-193a; P.A. 01-41 amended Subsec. (k) to designate as “a health care guardian” the person appointed in Subdiv. (3) to represent the health care interests of the defendant, add Subdiv. (4) re indemnification of health care guardians and make technical changes in Subdivs. (1) and (2); June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision re whether defendant appears eligible for civil commitment with monitoring by Court Support Services Division pursuant to Subsec. (h)(2), adding Subdiv. and Subpara. designators and making technical changes, amended Subsec. (h) by designating existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and amending said Subdiv. by designating provisions re ordering placement for treatment as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) re ordering placement at treatment facility pending civil commitment proceedings, and by adding Subdiv. (2) re placement of defendant in custody of Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services at treatment facility pending civil commitment proceedings, amended Subsec. (j) by adding Subdiv. (4) re report whenever defendant has been placed for treatment pending civil commitment proceedings and application for civil commitment is denied or not pursued and by making technical changes, amended Subsec. (m) by adding provision re if court orders placement of defendant in custody of Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and by making technical changes, and amended Subsec. (n) by adding reference to Subsec. (h)(2), effective August 20, 2003, and, in repealing Secs. 17b-19, 17b-62 to 17b-65, inclusive, 17b-116, 17b-116a, 17b-116b, 17b-117, 17b-120, 17b-121, 17b-123, 17b-134, 17b-135, 17b-220, 17b-259 and 17b-287, also authorized deletion of internal references to said sections in this section, effective March 1, 2004; P.A. 04-28 amended Subsec. (d) by changing “or” to “and” re determinations of probability that defendant will regain competency and whether defendant appears eligible for civil commitment, effective April 28, 2004; P.A. 04-76 amended Subsec. (n) by deleting references to Secs. 17b-118b and 17b-221 that were repealed by the same act; (Revisor's note: In 2005, a reference in Subsec. (m) to Sec. 17a-283 was changed editorially by the Revisors to Sec. 17a-282 to reflect the repeal of Sec. 17a-283 by P.A. 04-54); P.A. 05-19 amended Subsec. (k)(1) by adding Subpara. (D) re denial of application for civil commitment of defendant and amended Subsec. (p) by deleting provision re state policeman to guard violent defendant after necessary placement in facility; P.A. 06-36 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision re action of examiners upon determination of substantial probability that defendant will regain competency within maximum period of placement order, amended Subsec. (h)(2) by adding provision re request for voluntary admission under Sec. 17a-506, replacing provision re defendant ceasing voluntary participation in treatment plan with provision re defendant unwilling or unable to comply with treatment plan despite reasonable efforts of treatment facility to encourage compliance, deleting reference to Subsec. (j) and adding provision re contents of written progress report, amended Subsec. (j)(4) by adding provision re first 120 days of period covered by placement order, replacing “has been placed for treatment pending civil commitment proceedings” with “would be eligible for civil commitment” and deleting provision re application for civil commitment is denied or not pursued, amended Subsec. (k)(1) by replacing “has been placed for treatment pending civil commitment proceedings” with “would be eligible for civil commitment”, deleting provision re application for civil commitment is denied or not pursued, adding provision re receipt of report pursuant to Subsec. (h)(2)(A)(iii) and adding provision re placement order upon finding that defendant is eligible for civil commitment, amended Subsec. (k)(3) by inserting “unwilling or” and made technical changes throughout section; P.A. 07-71 amended Subsec. (k) by making a conforming change in Subdiv. (1), making a technical change in Subdiv. (2), designating existing provisions of Subdiv. (3) as Subdiv. (3)(A) and making a technical change therein, adding Subdiv. (3)(B) re supplemental report of health care guardian, adding new Subdiv. (4) re continued involuntary medication of defendant and redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (5); pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Commissioner of Mental Retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Commissioner of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 07-153 amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision re examiners' determination and recommendation re civil commitment of incompetent defendant to hospital for psychiatric disabilities, amended Subsec. (j) by adding new Subpara. (C) requiring progress report to contain opinion re eligibility for and appropriateness of such commitment and redesignating existing Subpara. (C) as Subpara. (D), made technical changes in Subsec. (k) and amended Subsec. (m) by adding provision re consideration of examiners' recommendation and treatment facility opinion re such commitment, distinguishing between commitment procedures applicable to placement of defendant in custody of Commissioner of Children and Families or Commissioner of Developmental Services and commitment procedures applicable to placement of defendant in custody of Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services and authorizing the court to order the latter commissioner to provide services in a less restrictive setting; P.A. 09-79 amended Subsec. (d) to add provision re examiners' access to information on treatment dates and locations in department's database of treatment episodes for purpose of obtaining release of information from defendant and to provide that examination be completed within 15 business days, rather than 15 days, amended Subsec. (e) to add provision re exclusion of treatment information in database of treatment episodes unless defendant released the information and to provide that nothing in subsection shall limit other release or use of information from said database permitted by law, amended Subsec. (i) to require evaluators to transmit information obtained about defendant not later than 24 hours after court orders placement, amended Subsec. (j) to require person in charge of treatment facility or designee to provide written progress report to examiners not later than 5 business days after court finds defendant will not attain competency within period of placement order or defendant has regained competency, and made technical changes, effective June 2, 2009; P.A. 10-28 amended Subsec. (i) to substitute “examiners” for “evaluators” and “examination” for “evaluation”, and amended Subsec. (m) to divide existing provisions into Subdivs. (1) to (5), to add provision allowing court to order commissioner to give court notice prior to committed defendant's release if release is prior to expiration of time within which defendant may be prosecuted in Subdiv. (1), to add provision re violation of Sec. 53-21(a)(2), 53a-60(a)(2), 53a-60a, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b, provide that periodic examinations occur at intervals of not less than 6 months and reposition provision re continuation of periodic examinations in Subdiv. (3), and to add “record” re erasure in Subdiv. (5); P.A. 11-15 added Subsecs. (j)(5) and (k)(1)(A)(v) re defendant who is not competent but has improved sufficiently that inpatient commitment is no longer the least restrictive placement appropriate and available to restore competency, amended Subsec. (k)(1) to add provision re court consideration of whether availability of such less restrictive placement is a sufficient basis on which to release such defendant on a promise to appear, conditions of release, cash bail or bond, and made technical changes; P.A. 11-129 amended Subsec. (i) to substitute “facility for persons with intellectual disability” for “mental retardation facility”; June 12 Sp. Sess. P.A. 12-1 amended Subsec. (i)(2) to insert Subpara. designators (A) and (B) and add exception in Subpara. (A) that defendant placed with Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services may remain in custody of Department of Correction, amended Subsec. (j) to make provisions applicable to Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services re defendant in custody of Commissioner of Correction, amended Subsec. (k)(1) to provide that Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services retain responsibility for providing testimony at hearing re defendant in custody of Commissioner of Correction, amended Subsec. (l) to substitute “a facility for persons with intellectual disability” for “mental retardation facility”, amended Subsec. (m) to add provision in Subdiv. (1) allowing court to order Commissioner of Developmental Services to give court notice prior to committed defendant's release if release is prior to expiration of time within which defendant may be prosecuted, and add provision in Subdiv. (3) allowing court to order periodic examinations of defendant placed with Commissioner of Developmental Services, amended Subsec. (p) to designate existing provisions as Subdiv. (1) and amend same to replace provisions re placement of violent defendant with provisions re defendant who presents a significant security, safety or medical risk, add Subdiv. (2) re defendant remaining in custody of Commissioner of Correction and, add Subdiv. (3) re defendant in custody of Commissioner of Correction who the court finds is still not competent and will not attain competency absent administration of psychiatric medication; P.A. 16-126 amended Subsec. (h)(2)(B) by adding references to Secs. 14-227m and 14-227n(a)(1) and (2); P.A. 18-134 amended Subsec. (m)(3) by adding provision re conducting subsequent periodic examinations as to defendant's competency at intervals of not less than 18 months; P.A. 19-16 amended Subsec. (m) to delete reference to Sec. 54-193a in Subdivs. (3) and (5); P.A. 19-118 amended Subsec. (n) by deleting reference to Sec. 17b-256, effective July 1, 2019, and P.A. 19-189 amended Subsecs. (h)(2)(B) and (m)(3) by replacing “53a-70b,” with “section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or”.
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Sec. 54-56e. (Formerly Sec. 54-76p). Accelerated pretrial rehabilitation. (a) There shall be a pretrial program for accelerated rehabilitation of persons accused of a crime or crimes or a motor vehicle violation or violations for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be imposed, which crimes or violations are not of a serious nature. Upon application by any such person for participation in the program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed.
(b) The court may, in its discretion, invoke such program on motion of the defendant or on motion of a state's attorney or prosecuting attorney with respect to a defendant (1) who, the court believes, will probably not offend in the future, (2) who has no previous record of conviction of a crime or of a violation of section 14-196, subsection (c) of section 14-215, section 14-222a, subsection (a) or subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 14-224, section 14-227a or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, and (3) who states under oath, in open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths, under the penalties of perjury, (A) that the defendant has never had such program invoked on the defendant's behalf or that the defendant was charged with a misdemeanor or a motor vehicle violation for which a term of imprisonment of one year or less may be imposed and ten or more years have passed since the date that any charge or charges for which the program was invoked on the defendant's behalf were dismissed by the court, or (B) with respect to a defendant who is a veteran, that the defendant has not had such program invoked in the defendant's behalf more than once previously, provided the defendant shall agree thereto and provided notice has been given by the defendant, on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, to the victim or victims of such crime or motor vehicle violation, if any, by registered or certified mail and such victim or victims have an opportunity to be heard thereon. Any defendant who makes application for participation in such program shall pay to the court an application fee of thirty-five dollars. No defendant shall be allowed to participate in the pretrial program for accelerated rehabilitation more than two times. For the purposes of this section, “veteran” means any person who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable from active service in the armed forces as defined in section 27-103.
(c) This section shall not be applicable: (1) To any person charged with (A) a class A felony, (B) a class B felony, except a violation of subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of subsection (a) of section 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person, or a violation of subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person and does not involve a violation by a person who is a public official, as defined in section 1-110, or a state or municipal employee, as defined in section 1-110, or (C) a violation of section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or section 14-227a or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21 or section 53a-56b, 53a-60d, 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-71, except as provided in subdivision (5) of this subsection, 53a-72a, 53a-72b, 53a-90a, 53a-196e or 53a-196f, (2) to any person charged with a crime or motor vehicle violation who, as a result of the commission of such crime or motor vehicle violation, causes the death of another person, (3) to any person accused of a family violence crime as defined in section 46b-38a who (A) is eligible for the pretrial family violence education program established under section 46b-38c, or (B) has previously had the pretrial family violence education program invoked in such person's behalf, (4) to any person charged with a violation of section 21a-267 or 21a-279 who (A) is eligible for the pretrial drug education and community service program established under section 54-56i, or (B) has previously had the pretrial drug education program or the pretrial drug education and community service program invoked on such person's behalf, (5) unless good cause is shown, to (A) any person charged with a class C felony, or (B) any person charged with committing a violation of subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section 53a-71 while such person was less than four years older than the other person, (6) to any person charged with a violation of section 9-359 or 9-359a, (7) to any person charged with a motor vehicle violation (A) while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, or (B) who holds a commercial driver's license or commercial driver's instruction permit at the time of the violation, (8) to any person charged with a violation of subdivision (6) of subsection (a) of section 53a-60, or (9) to a health care provider or vendor participating in the state's Medicaid program charged with a violation of section 53a-122 or subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 53a-123.
(d) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, any defendant who enters such program shall pay to the court a participation fee of one hundred dollars. Any defendant who enters such program shall agree to the tolling of any statute of limitations with respect to such crime and to a waiver of the right to a speedy trial. Any such defendant shall appear in court and shall, under such conditions as the court shall order, be released to the custody of the Court Support Services Division, except that, if a criminal docket for drug-dependent persons has been established pursuant to section 51-181b in the judicial district, such defendant may be transferred, under such conditions as the court shall order, to the court handling such docket for supervision by such court. If the defendant refuses to accept, or, having accepted, violates such conditions, the defendant's case shall be brought to trial. The period of such probation or supervision, or both, shall not exceed two years. If the defendant has reached the age of sixteen years but has not reached the age of eighteen years, the court may order that as a condition of such probation the defendant be referred for services to a youth service bureau established pursuant to section 10-19m, provided the court finds, through an assessment by a youth service bureau or its designee, that the defendant is in need of and likely to benefit from such services. When determining any conditions of probation to order for a person entering such program who was charged with a misdemeanor that did not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person or a motor vehicle violation, the court shall consider ordering the person to perform community service in the community in which the offense or violation occurred. If the court determines that community service is appropriate, such community service may be implemented by a community court established in accordance with section 51-181c if the offense or violation occurred within the jurisdiction of a community court established by said section. If the defendant is charged with a violation of section 46a-58, 53-37a, 53a-181j, 53a-181k or 53a-181l, the court may order that as a condition of such probation the defendant participate in a hate crimes diversion program as provided in subsection (e) of this section. If a defendant is charged with a violation of section 53-247, the court may order that as a condition of such probation the defendant undergo psychiatric or psychological counseling or participate in an animal cruelty prevention and education program provided such a program exists and is available to the defendant.
(e) If the court orders the defendant to participate in a hate crimes diversion program as a condition of probation, the defendant shall pay to the court a participation fee of four hundred twenty-five dollars. No person may be excluded from such program for inability to pay such fee, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court enters a finding thereof. The Judicial Department shall contract with service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate hate crimes diversion programs to meet the requirements of this section. Any defendant whose employment or residence makes it unreasonable to attend a hate crimes diversion program in this state may attend a program in another state which has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court and payment of the application and program fees as provided in this section. The hate crimes diversion program shall consist of an educational program and supervised community service.
(f) If a defendant released to the custody of the Court Support Services Division satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of probation, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant and the court, on finding such satisfactory completion, shall dismiss such charges. If the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant after satisfactorily completing such defendant's period of probation, the court, upon receipt of a report submitted by the Court Support Services Division that the defendant satisfactorily completed such defendant's period of probation, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory completion and dismiss such charges. If a defendant transferred to the court handling the criminal docket for drug-dependent persons satisfactorily completes such defendant's period of supervision, the court shall release the defendant to the custody of the Court Support Services Division under such conditions as the court shall order or shall dismiss such charges. Upon dismissal, all records of such charges shall be erased pursuant to section 54-142a. An order of the court denying a motion to dismiss the charges against a defendant who has completed such defendant's period of probation or supervision or terminating the participation of a defendant in such program shall be a final judgment for purposes of appeal.
(P.A. 73-641, S. 1, 2; P.A. 74-38; P.A. 76-53; 76-179; P.A. 79-581, S. 11; 79-585, S. 10, 15; P.A. 81-446, S. 4; P.A. 82-9; P.A. 83-534, S. 7; P.A. 85-350, S. 2; 85-374; P.A. 87-343, S. 3, 4; P.A. 87-567, S. 5, 7; P.A. 88-145; P.A. 89-219, S. 7, 10; P.A. 91-24, S. 6; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 116, 117; P.A. 93-138; P.A. 95-142, S. 4; 95-154; 95-225, S. 31; P.A. 97-248, S. 10, 12; P.A. 98-81, S. 16, 20; 98-208, S. 1, 2; P.A. 99-148, S. 3, 4; 99-187, S. 5; P.A. 00-72, S. 4, 12; 00-196, S. 39; 00-209, S. 5; P.A. 01-16; 01-84, S. 19, 26; P.A. 02-132, S. 34; P.A. 03-208, S. 2; P.A. 04-139, S. 9; P.A. 05-235, S. 5; P.A. 07-217, S. 192; P.A. 10-43, S. 22; P.A. 11-158, S. 1; P.A. 12-42, S. 2; P.A. 13-159, S. 3; 13-271, S. 43; P.A. 14-56, S. 3; 14-130, S. 34; 14-220, S. 2; 14-233, S. 7; P.A. 15-85, S. 19; 15-211, S. 10; P.A. 16-126, S. 32; 16-193, S. 29; P.A. 19-189, S. 25.)
History: P.A. 74-38 transferred power to invoke accelerated rehabilitation program from state's attorney or prosecuting attorney to the court and replaced provision which made section inapplicable to persons accused of class A, B or C felony with provision specifying that section is inapplicable in such cases “unless good cause is shown”; P.A. 76-53 clarified provision requiring that crime victims be given opportunity to express their views by specifying notice procedure; P.A. 76-179 required that candidate for rehabilitation state under oath that he has not previously had the program invoked on his behalf; P.A. 79-581 rendered provisions inapplicable to youths previously adjudged youthful offenders; P.A. 79-585 substituted office of adult probation for commission on adult probation; Sec. 54-76p transferred to Sec. 54-56e in 1981; P.A. 81-446 excluded persons charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a from the provisions of this section; P.A. 82-9 substituted “in the future” for “again” and added provision re erasure of records pursuant to Sec. 54-142a upon dismissal; P.A. 83-534 excluded persons charged with a violation of Sec. 53a-56b or 53a-60d from the provisions of this section; P.A. 85-350 added provision that if the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against him after satisfactory completion of the program the court may on its own motion make a finding of satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges; P.A. 85-374 added provision that certain court orders are final judgments for purposes of appeal; P.A. 87-343 made persons accused of a motor vehicle violation for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment may be imposed eligible for the program; P.A. 87-567 specified that section will not apply to persons accused of a family violence crime who are eligible for pretrial family education program established under Sec. 46b-38c or who have previously had pretrial family violence education program invoked in their behalf; P.A. 88-145 precluded from the program an accused who has a previous record of conviction of “a violation of section 14-196, subsection (c) of section 14-215, section 14-222a, subsection (a) of section 14-224 or section 14-227a”, and made a technical change to conform with the changes made by P.A. 87-343 by requiring the accused to give notice to the victim or victims of such crime “or motor vehicle violation”; P.A. 89-219 established an application fee of $25 and a participation fee of $100; P.A. 91-24 added provision permitting the defendant to make a sworn statement “before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths”; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 increased application fee from $25 to $35; P.A. 93-138 made persons accused of more than one crime or motor vehicle violation eligible for the program; P.A. 95-142 made ineligible for the program any person charged with a violation of Sec. 53-21(2), 53a-70, 53a-70a, 53a-70b, 53a-71, 53a-72a or 53a-72b; P.A. 95-154 made ineligible for the program any person charged with a class A or B felony and any person who has previously been adjudged a youthful offender for the commission of a class B felony, however provision re youthful offenders failed to take effect because of irreconcilable conflict with P.A. 95-225, the provisions of that act having taken precedence; P.A. 95-225 made ineligible for the program any person who has previously been adjudged a youthful offender where formerly a “youth” who has previously been adjudged a youthful offender was ineligible unless good cause was shown, and added provision authorizing the court to order certain defendants be referred for services to a youth service bureau as a condition of probation if the court finds that they are in need of and likely to benefit from such services; P.A. 97-248 authorized the transfer of a defendant to the court handling the criminal docket for drug-dependent persons if such a docket has been established in the judicial district, specified that the period of probation or supervision or both not exceed two years and provided that if a defendant transferred to the court handling the criminal docket for drug-dependent persons satisfactorily completes his period of supervision the court shall release the defendant to the Office of Adult Probation or dismiss the charges, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-81 after “who has not been adjudged a youthful offender” added “on or after October 1, 1995”, effective May 22, 1998; P.A. 98-208 inserted Subsec., Subdiv. and Subpara. indicators and added Subsec. (c)(2) making provisions inapplicable to any person charged with a crime or motor vehicle violation who, as a result of the commission of such crime or motor vehicle violation, causes the death of another person, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 99-148 added Subsec. (c)(4) making provisions inapplicable to any person charged with a violation of Sec. 21a-267 or 21a-279 who is eligible for the pretrial drug education program under Sec. 54-56i or has previously had such program invoked in such person's behalf and made provisions of section gender neutral, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 99-187 amended Subsec. (d) to add provision authorizing the court to order as a condition of probation that the defendant participate in the zero-tolerance drug supervision program established pursuant to Sec. 53a-39d and to make technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality; P.A. 00-72 amended Subsec. (d) to add exception re amount of the participation fee and add provision authorizing the court to order participation in a hate crimes diversion program as a condition of probation for defendants charged with a violation of Sec. 46a-58, 53-37a, 53a-181j, 53a-181k or 53a-181l, added new Subsec. (e) re hate crimes diversion program and redesignated former Subsec. (e) as Subsec. (f), effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 00-196 amended Subsec. (d) to add provisions requiring the court to consider ordering a person charged with a misdemeanor that did not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person or a motor vehicle violation to perform community service as a condition of probation and authorizing such community service to be implemented by a community court if the offense or violation occurred within the jurisdiction of a community court, which provisions were formerly incorporated in Sec. 53a-28(e) and were deleted therefrom by same public act; P.A. 00-209 amended Subsec. (b)(3) to replace condition that defendant “has not previously been adjudged a youthful offender on or after October 1, 1995,” with condition that defendant “has not been adjudged a youthful offender within the preceding five years”, and to add provision that in determining whether to grant an application for a person who has been adjudged a youthful offender more than five years prior to the date of the application, the court shall have access to the youthful offender records of such person and may consider the crime such person was charged with as a youth; P.A. 01-16 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to add exception re eligibility of any person charged with a violation of Sec. 53a-122 that does not involve the use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against another person and to make a technical change; P.A. 01-84 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to replace reference to “subdivision (2) of section 53-21” with “subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 53-21”, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-132 replaced “Office of Adult Probation” with “Court Support Services Division” in Subsecs. (d), (e) and (f) and replaced “Office of Adult Probation” with “Judicial Department” re authority for contracting with service providers in Subsec. (e); P.A. 03-208 amended Subsec. (d) to add provision authorizing the court to order counseling or participation in an animal cruelty prevention and education program for a defendant charged with a violation of Sec. 53-247; P.A. 04-139 amended Subsec. (c)(1) to make section inapplicable to a person charged with a violation of Sec. 53a-90a, 53a-196e or 53a-196f; P.A. 05-235 added Subsec. (c)(6) making section inapplicable to any person charged with a violation of Sec. 9-359 or 9-359a, effective July 1, 2005, and applicable to elections, primaries and referenda held on or after September 1, 2005; P.A. 07-217 made a technical change in Subsec. (d), effective July 12, 2007; P.A. 10-43 amended Subsec. (d) to delete provision authorizing court to order as condition of probation that defendant participate in zero-tolerance drug supervision program; P.A. 11-158 amended Subsec. (b) to delete Subdiv. (3) re condition that person not have been adjudged youthful offender within preceding 5 years, redesignate existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (3) and delete provision re court access to youthful offender records of person adjudged youthful offender more than 5 years prior to the application and consideration of crime such person was charged with as a youth; P.A. 12-42 amended Subsec. (b) to add provisions re defendant who is a veteran and re definition of “veteran”; P.A. 13-159 amended Subsec. (c) to add “except as provided in subdivision (5) of this subsection” in Subdiv. (1), substitute “pretrial drug education and community service program” for “pretrial drug education program” and make a conforming change in Subdiv. (4), and add Subpara. (A) designator re person charged with a class C felony and add Subpara. (B) re person charged under Sec. 53a-71(a)(1) for violation committed while less than 4 years older than the other person in Subdiv. (5); P.A. 13-271 amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (7) re person charged with motor vehicle violation while operating a commercial motor vehicle or who holds commercial driver's license or commercial driver's instruction permit at time of violation, effective January 1, 2014; P.A. 14-56 amended Subsec. (b) to redefine “veteran”, effective May 23, 2014; P.A. 14-130 amended Subsec. (b)(2) to add reference to Sec. 14-224(b)(1); P.A. 14-220 amended Subsec. (c) to add Subdiv. (8) re person charged with violation of Sec. 53a-60(a)(6); P.A. 14-233 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re court to order file sealed as to public upon application for participation in program, amended Subsec. (b) to add Subpara. (A) and (B) designators and provision re defendant charged with misdemeanor or motor vehicle violation when 10 years have passed since program was previously invoked and related charges were dismissed in Subdiv. (3), and to add provision re no defendant may participate in program more than 2 times, amended Subsec. (c) to add reference to violation of Sec. 53a-122(a)(1), (2) or (3) and add provision re public official or state or municipal employee charged with violation of Sec. 53a-122(a)(4), and made technical changes; P.A. 15-85 amended Subsec. (b) by substituting “form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator” for “form approved by rule of court”; P.A. 15-211 amended Subsec. (c) by adding Subpara. designators (A) to (C) in Subdiv. (1) and adding Subdiv. (9) re health care provider or vendor participating in the Medicaid program charged with a violation of Sec. 53a-122 or 53a-123(a)(4); P.A. 16-126 amended Subsecs. (b)(2) and (c)(1) by adding references to Secs. 14-227m and 14-227n(a)(1) and (2); P.A. 16-193 made technical changes in Subsec. (c)(8) and (9); P.A. 19-189 amended Subsec. (c) by replacing “53a-70b,” with “section 53a-70b of the general statutes, revision of 1958, revised to January 1, 2019, or”.
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Sec. 54-56g. Pretrial alcohol education program. (a)(1) There shall be a pretrial alcohol education program for persons charged with a violation of section 14-227a, 14-227g or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n or section 15-133 or 15-140n. Upon application by any such person for participation in such program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, and such person shall pay to the court an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred dollars, and such person shall state under oath, in open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths, under penalties of perjury that: (A) If such person is charged with a violation of section 14-227a, 14-227g or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subsection (d) of section 15-133 or section 15-140n, such person has not had such program invoked in such person's behalf within the preceding ten years for a violation of section 14-227a, 14-227g or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, subsection (d) of section 15-133 or section 15-140n, (B) such person has not been convicted of a violation of section 53a-56b or 53a-60d, a violation of subsection (a) of section 14-227a before, on or after October 1, 1981, a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a on or after October 1, 1985, a violation of section 14-227g, a violation of section 14-227m or a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n, (C) such person has not been convicted of a violation of section 15-132a, subsection (d) of section 15-133, section 15-140l or section 15-140n, (D) such person has not been convicted in any other state at any time of an offense the essential elements of which are substantially the same as section 53a-56b, 53a-60d, 15-132a, 15-140l or 15-140n, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a, section 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n or subsection (d) of section 15-133, and (E) notice has been given by such person, by registered or certified mail on a form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, to each victim who sustained a serious physical injury, as defined in section 53a-3, which was caused by such person's alleged violation, that such person has applied to participate in the pretrial alcohol education program and that such victim has an opportunity to be heard by the court on the application.
(2) The court shall provide each such victim who sustained a serious physical injury an opportunity to be heard prior to granting an application under this section. Unless good cause is shown, a person shall be ineligible for participation in such pretrial alcohol education program if such person's alleged violation of section 14-227a, 14-227g or 14-227m, subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n or subsection (d) of section 15-133 caused the serious physical injury, as defined in section 53a-3, of another person.
(3) The application fee imposed under this subsection shall be credited to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund established under section 54-215. The evaluation fee imposed under this subsection shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.
(b) The court, after consideration of the recommendation of the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case, may, in its discretion, grant such application. If the court grants such application, the court shall refer such person to the Court Support Services Division for assessment and confirmation of the eligibility of the applicant and to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation. The Court Support Services Division, in making its assessment and confirmation, may rely on the representations made by the applicant under oath in open court with respect to convictions in other states of offenses specified in subsection (a) of this section. Upon confirmation of eligibility and receipt of the evaluation report, the defendant shall be referred to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services by the Court Support Services Division for placement in an appropriate alcohol intervention program for one year, or be placed in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program. The alcohol intervention program shall include a ten-session intervention program and a fifteen-session intervention program. Any person who enters the pretrial alcohol education program shall agree: (1) To the tolling of the statute of limitations with respect to such crime, (2) to a waiver of such person's right to a speedy trial, (3) to complete ten or fifteen counseling sessions in an alcohol intervention program or successfully complete a substance abuse treatment program of not less than twelve sessions pursuant to this section dependent upon the evaluation report and the court order, (4) to commence participation in an alcohol intervention program or substance abuse treatment program not later than ninety days after the date of entry of the court order unless granted a delayed entry into a program by the court, (5) upon completion of participation in the alcohol intervention program, to accept placement in a substance abuse treatment program upon the recommendation of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services pursuant to subsection (f) of this section or placement in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program which meets standards established by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, if the Court Support Services Division deems it appropriate, and (6) if ordered by the court, to participate in at least one victim impact panel. The suspension of the motor vehicle operator's license of any such person pursuant to section 14-227b shall be effective during the period such person is participating in the pretrial alcohol education program, provided such person shall have the option of not commencing the participation in such program until the period of such suspension is completed. If the Court Support Services Division informs the court that the defendant is ineligible for such program and the court makes a determination of ineligibility or if the program provider certifies to the court that the defendant did not successfully complete the assigned program or is no longer amenable to treatment and such person does not request, or the court denies, program reinstatement under subsection (e) of this section, the court shall order the court file to be unsealed, enter a plea of not guilty for such defendant and immediately place the case on the trial list. If such defendant satisfactorily completes the assigned program, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant and the court, on reviewing the record of the defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division and on finding such satisfactory completion, shall dismiss the charges. If the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant after satisfactorily completing the assigned program the court, upon receipt of the record of the defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges. Upon motion of the defendant and a showing of good cause, the court may extend the one-year placement period for a reasonable period for the defendant to complete the assigned program. A record of participation in such program shall be retained by the Court Support Services Division for a period of ten years from the date the court grants the application for participation in such program. The Court Support Services Division shall transmit to the Department of Motor Vehicles a record of participation in such program for each person who satisfactorily completes such program. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall maintain for a period of ten years the record of a person's participation in such program as part of such person's driving record. The Court Support Services Division shall transmit to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection the record of participation of any person who satisfactorily completes such program who has been charged with a violation of the provisions of subsection (d) of section 15-133 or section 15-140n. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection shall maintain for a period of ten years the record of a person's participation in such program as a part of such person's boater certification record.
(c) At the time the court grants the application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education program, such person shall also pay to the court a nonrefundable program fee of three hundred fifty dollars if such person is ordered to participate in the ten-session intervention program and a nonrefundable program fee of five hundred dollars if such person is ordered to participate in the fifteen-session intervention program. If the court grants the application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education program and such person is ordered to participate in a substance abuse treatment program, such person shall be responsible for the costs associated with participation in such program. No person may be excluded from either program for inability to pay such fee or cost, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court enters a finding thereof. If the court finds that a person is indigent or unable to pay for a treatment program, the costs of such program shall be paid from the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. If the court finds that a person is indigent or unable to pay for an intervention program, the court may waive all or any portion of the fee for such intervention program. If the court denies the application, such person shall not be required to pay the program fee. If the court grants the application and such person is later determined to be ineligible for participation in such pretrial alcohol education program or fails to complete the assigned program, the program fee shall not be refunded. All program fees shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.
(d) If a person returns to court with certification from a program provider that such person did not successfully complete the assigned program or is no longer amenable to treatment, the provider, to the extent practicable, shall include a recommendation to the court as to whether a ten-session intervention program, a fifteen-session intervention program or placement in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program would best serve such person's needs. The provider shall also indicate whether the current program referral was an initial referral or a reinstatement to the program.
(e) When a person subsequently requests reinstatement into an alcohol intervention program or a substance abuse treatment program and the Court Support Services Division verifies that such person is eligible for reinstatement into such program and thereafter the court favorably acts on such request, such person shall pay a nonrefundable program fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars if ordered to complete a ten-session intervention program or two hundred fifty dollars if ordered to complete a fifteen-session intervention program, as the case may be. Unless good cause is shown, such fees shall not be waived. If the court grants a person's request to be reinstated into a treatment program, such person shall be responsible for the costs, if any, associated with being reinstated into the treatment program. All program fees collected in connection with a reinstatement to an intervention program shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. No person shall be permitted more than two program reinstatements pursuant to this subsection.
(f) The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall contract with service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate alcohol programs to meet the requirements of this section. Said department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish standards for such alcohol programs. Any person ordered to participate in a treatment program shall do so at a state-licensed treatment program which meets the standards established by said department. Any defendant whose employment or residence makes it unreasonable to attend an alcohol intervention program or a substance abuse treatment program in this state may attend a program in another state which has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court and payment of the application, evaluation and program fees and treatment costs, as appropriate, as provided in this section.
(g) The court may, as a condition of granting such application, require that such person participate in a victim impact panel program approved by the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department. Such victim impact panel program shall provide a nonconfrontational forum for the victims of alcohol-related or drug-related offenses and offenders to share experiences on the impact of alcohol-related or drug-related incidents in their lives. Such victim impact panel program shall be conducted by a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of victims of accidents caused by persons who operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, or both. Such organization may assess a participation fee of not more than seventy-five dollars on any person required by the court to participate in such program, provided such organization shall offer a hardship waiver when it has determined that the imposition of a fee would pose an economic hardship for such person.
(h) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in the case of any person charged with a violation of section 14-227a or 14-227m or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227n (1) while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, or (2) who holds a commercial driver's license or commercial driver's instruction permit at the time of the violation.
(P.A. 81-446, S. 1; P.A. 82-408, S. 1; 82-472, S. 166, 183; P.A. 83-508, S. 1, 5; 83-571, S. 1; P.A. 85-350, S. 3; 85-417; 85-529, S. 1, 4; 85-596, S. 3; P.A. 86-403, S. 91, 132; P.A. 89-110, S. 1-3; 89-219, S. 8, 10; 89-314, S. 4, 5; P.A. 91-24, S. 7; 91-243; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 81, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-135, S. 8; P.A. 95-257, S. 5, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 129, 166; P.A. 97-309, S. 14, 23; 97-322, S. 7, 9; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, S. 32, 88; P.A. 98-81, S. 11; P.A. 99-255, S. 3; P.A. 01-201, S. 2, 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8, S. 9, 13; P.A. 02-132, S. 35; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 117; P.A. 03-244, S. 11, 13; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 177; P.A. 04-217, S. 19; 04-250, S. 2; P.A. 06-130, S. 21; P.A. 07-167, S. 42; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 20; P.A. 09-140, S. 14; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 54; P.A. 10-18, S. 24; 10-30, S. 1; P.A. 11-80, S. 1; P.A. 13-271, S. 44; P.A. 14-110, S. 1; P.A. 15-85, S. 20; 15-211, S. 11; P.A. 16-126, S. 4, 5; P.A. 19-151, S. 4.)
History: P.A. 82-408 added “before or after October 1, 1982” after “14-227a” in Subsec. (a), in Subsec. (b) changed “grants” to “may, in its discretion, grant” and eliminated provision that license suspension shall be ineffective during period of participation in program and reversed upon satisfactory completion of program, in Subsec. (d) changed “office of adult probation” to “Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission” and “Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission” to “service providers” and in Subsec. (e) after “fund” added “from which all moneys except administrative costs, shall be transferred to the Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission”; P.A. 82-472 changed date applicable to violations of Sec. 14-227a from October 1, 1982, to October 1, 1981; P.A. 83-508 repealed provision establishing alcohol education and treatment revolving fund from which moneys shall be transferred to Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission for education and treatment programs and provided that $200 fee shall be credited to the general fund instead of being deposited in revolving fund and that any balance in the revolving fund on July 1, 1983, shall be transferred to the general fund; P.A. 83-571 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that a person who enters the system agrees to accept more intensive treatment or other forms of education or treatment or to participate in additional meetings or counseling sessions if the office of adult probation deems it appropriate, to provide that the case of a defendant “no longer amenable to treatment under such program” shall be placed on the trial list, and to replace the provision that a defendant's “case shall be brought to trial” with provision that the court shall “enter a plea of not guilty for such defendant and immediately place the case on the trial list”, to require the office of adult probation to transmit to the department of motor vehicles a record of participation for each person who satisfactorily completes such program and to require the department of motor vehicles to maintain for 7 years a record of a person's participation in the program, and amended Subsec. (c) to increase the fee for participation from $200 to $250; P.A. 85-350 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that unless good cause is shown a person is ineligible for the program if his violation caused the serious physical injury of another person, and amended Subsec. (b) to provide that if the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against him after satisfactory completion of the program the court may on its own motion make a finding of satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges; P.A. 85-417 replaced references to office of adult probation with references to bail commission; P.A. 85-529 amended Subsec. (a) to establish an application fee of $15 and provide that said fee be credited to the criminal injuries compensation fund; P.A. 85-596 amended Subsec. (a) to exclude persons convicted of a violation of “subsection (a)” of section 14-227a before or after October 1, 1981, or “a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a on or after October 1, 1985”; P.A. 86-403 made technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 89-110 amended Subsec. (a) to exclude persons convicted of a violation of Sec. 53a-56b or 53a-60d or convicted in any other state at any time of an offense the essential elements of which are substantially the same as Sec. 53a-56b, 53a-60d or 14-227a(a)(1) or (2), amended Subsec. (b) to authorize the bail commission to rely on the representations made by the applicant re convictions in other states, and amended Subsec. (d) to authorize a defendant to attend an alcohol education and treatment program in another state under certain conditions; P.A. 89-219 amended Subsec. (a) to raise the application fee from $15 to $50; P.A. 89-314 amended Subsec. (b) to add proviso that a person whose license has been suspended pursuant to Sec. 14-227b shall have the option of not commencing participation in the program until the period of such suspension is completed; P.A. 91-24 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision permitting the person to make a sworn statement “before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths”; P.A. 91-243 amended Subsec. (b) to make technical language changes to clarify the role of the Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission in the pretrial alcohol education system and repealed obsolete Subsec. (e) re transfer of moneys in alcohol education and treatment fund to general fund; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (c) to raise fee from $250 to $350; P.A. 93-381 replaced Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission and executive director with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, respectively, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-135 amended Subsec. (b) to provide referral to bail commissioner for assessment and confirmation of eligibility for program, and amended Subsec. (c) to require payment of nonrefundable program fee at time court grants application and to specify that payment of such fee is not required if court denies application, but that fee is not refundable if ineligibility is determined at a later time or applicant does not complete the program; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 made technical change in Subsec. (d), substituting “department” for “commission”, effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 97-309 and June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8 both changed eight meetings or counseling sessions to ten counseling sessions in Subsec. (b) and in Subsec. (c) increased the program fee from $350 to $425, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 97-322 revised effective date of P.A. 97-309 but without affecting this section; P.A. 98-81 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by changing “information or complaint” to “court file”; P.A. 99-255 amended Subsec. (b) to require a person who enters the system to agree to participate in at least fifteen counseling sessions if such person was charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a(a)(2) and had a blood alcohol ratio of 0.16% or more of alcohol, by weight, amended Subsec. (c) to establish a program fee of $600 if the person was charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a(a)(2) and had a blood alcohol ratio of 0.16% or more of alcohol, by weight, and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (b) a reference to “sixteen-hundredths of one per cent of more of alcohol” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “sixteen-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol” for consistency with language in Subsec. (c)); P.A. 01-201 added Subsec. (b)(5) requiring a person who enters the system to agree to participate in at least one victim impact panel if ordered by the court and added Subsec. (e) to authorize the court to require participation in a victim impact panel program as a condition of granting the application, specify the nature of the program and the organization that will conduct the program and authorize the organization to assess a participation fee; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8 amended Subsec. (c) by changing “General Fund” to “pretrial account”, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-132 replaced “Bail Commission” with “Court Support Services Division” in Subsecs. (b) and (c); May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 amended Subsec. (a) to require a pretrial alcohol education system for persons charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227g and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of $100, to require the court to order the court file sealed provided there is a statement under oath that, if such person is charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a, such person has not had such system invoked in his or her behalf within the preceding 10 years for a violation of said section, and, if such person is charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227g, such person has never had such system invoked in his or her behalf for a violation of Sec. 14-227a or 14-227g, and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to require the court to refer applicants to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation, to require any person who enters the system to agree to complete ten or fifteen counseling sessions in an alcohol intervention program dependent upon the evaluation report and the court order and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (c) to require payment to the court of a nonrefundable program fee of $325 if such person is ordered to participate in the ten-session program and a nonrefundable program fee of $500 if such person is ordered to participate in the fifteen-session program and to make technical changes, and amended Subsec. (d) to add provision re payment of the evaluation fee, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-244 amended Subsec. (a) to include reference to Secs. 15-133, 15-140l and 15-140n and amended Subsec. (b) to provide for transmittal of the record of participation to the Department of Environmental Protection for persons who violated Sec. 15-133, 15-140l or 15-140n; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to restore existing statutory language inadvertently omitted in the drafting of public act 03-244; P.A. 04-217 added Subsec. (f) providing section not applicable where person charged with violation of Sec. 14-227a while operating commercial motor vehicle, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 04-250 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to authorize the placement of the defendant in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program, add as an alternative in Subdiv. (3) successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program of not less than twelve sessions, add in Subdiv. (4) that the person agrees to accept placement in a treatment program “upon completion of participation in the alcohol intervention program” and replace in Subdiv. (4) “placement in a treatment program which has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, a program of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services” with “placement in a state-licensed treatment program which meets standards established by” said department, amended Subsec. (c) to replace “application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education system” with “application for participation in the alcohol intervention program”, add provision that if the court grants participation in a treatment program the person is responsible for the costs associated with participation in such program, add provision that if the court finds a person is indigent or unable to pay for a treatment program the costs of such program shall be paid from the pretrial account established under Sec. 54-56k and make technical changes and amended Subsec. (d) to require any person ordered to participate in a treatment program to do so at a state-licensed treatment program which meets the standards established by said department and replace “an alcohol program” with “an alcohol intervention program or a treatment program”; P.A. 06-130 amended Subsec. (f) by making section inapplicable to holders of commercial driver's licenses, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 07-167 amended Subsec. (f) by deleting provision re holder of a commercial driver's license, effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 amended Subsec. (e) to increase fee from $25 to $75 and to permit a waiver where fee would pose economic hardship; P.A. 09-140 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding references to Sec. 15-132a and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing pretrial alcohol education system with pretrial alcohol education program, increasing application fee from $50 to $100 and specifying that evaluation fee shall be credited to pretrial account established under Sec. 54-56k, amended Subsec. (b) by providing that alcohol intervention program shall include 10-session and 15-session intervention programs, adding new Subdiv. (4) re commencing participation in program not later than 90 days after date of entry of court order, redesignating existing Subdivs. (4) and (5) as Subdivs. (5) and (6), adding provision re entry of not guilty plea for any person who does not pursue or who is denied program reinstatement by the court under Subsec. (e), extending from 7 to 10 years the record retention requirements re program participation for Departments of Motor Vehicles and Environmental Protection and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (c) by increasing alcohol intervention program fee from $325 to $350 and deleting “such evaluation and” re fees credited to pretrial account, added new Subsec. (d) re recommendations from program providers re persons who do not successfully complete assigned program, added new Subsec. (e) re reinstatement into intervention or treatment program and redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) to (f) as Subsecs. (f) to (h), effective January 1, 2010; P.A. 10-18 amended Subsecs. (a) to (c) by replacing references to “system” with references to “program”; P.A. 10-30 made technical changes and substituted references to “program” for references to “system”, amended Subsec. (b) to substitute “ten years from the date the court grants the application for participation in such program” for “seven years from the date of application”, amended Subsec. (c) to allow waiver of fees if court finds person indigent or unable to pay for intervention program, and amended Subsec. (f) to reference treatment costs, effective July 1, 2010; pursuant to P.A. 11-80, “Department of Environmental Protection” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Energy and Environmental Protection” in Subsec. (b), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 13-271 amended Subsec. (h) to add Subdiv. (1) designator re operating a commercial motor vehicle and add Subdiv. (2) re person who holds commercial driver's license or commercial driver's instruction permit at time of violation, effective January 1, 2014; P.A. 14-110 amended Subsec. (a) to add new Subdiv. (1) to (3) designators, redesignate existing Subdivs. (1) to (4) as Subparas. (A) to (D) and add Subpara. (E) re notice to victim who sustained serious physical injury caused by alleged violation in Subdiv. (1), add provision re victim's opportunity to be heard prior to granting of application in Subdiv. (2), and make technical changes; P.A. 15-85 amended Subsec. (a)(1)(E) by substituting “form prescribed by the Office of the Chief Court Administrator” for “form approved by rule of court”; P.A. 15-211 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by deleting references to Secs. 15-132a and 15-140l, adding references to Secs. 14-227g, 15-133(d) and 15-140n, deleting former Subpara. (B) re person charged with violation of Sec. 14-227g, redesignating existing Subpara. (C) as Subpara. (B) and adding reference to violation of Sec. 14-227g therein, adding new Subpara. (C) re person not convicted of violation of Sec. 15-132a, 15-133(d), 15-140l or 15-140n, and adding references to Secs. 15-132a, 15-133(d), 15-140l and 15-140n in Subpara. (D), amended Subsec. (a)(2) by adding reference to Sec. 15-133(d), and amended Subsec. (b) by replacing references to Secs. 15-132a, 15-133 and 15-140l with reference to Sec. 15-133(d); P.A. 16-126 amended Subsecs. (a) and (h) by adding references to Secs. 14-227m and 14-227n(a)(1) and (2); P.A. 19-151 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by replacing “Upon application by any such person for participation in such program and payment to the court of an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred dollars, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, provided such person states under oath,” with “Upon application by any such person for participation in such program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, and such person shall pay to the court an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred dollars, and such person shall state under oath,”, effective July 8, 2019.
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Sec. 54-56i. Pretrial drug education and community service program. (a) There is established a pretrial drug education and community service program for persons charged with a violation of section 21a-267, 21a-279 or 21a-279a. The pretrial drug education and community service program shall include a fifteen-session drug education program and a substance abuse treatment program of not less than fifteen sessions, and the performance of community service.
(b) Upon application by any such person for participation in such program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, and such person shall pay to the court of an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred fifty dollars. A person shall be ineligible for participation in such pretrial drug education and community service program if such person has twice previously participated in (1) the pretrial drug education program established under the provisions of this section in effect prior to October 1, 2013, (2) the community service labor program established under section 53a-39c, (3) the pretrial drug education and community service program established under this section, or (4) any of such programs, except that the court may allow a person who has twice previously participated in such programs to participate in the pretrial drug education and community service program one additional time, for good cause shown. The evaluation and application fee imposed under this subsection shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.
(c) The court, after consideration of the recommendation of the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case, may, in its discretion, grant such application. If the court grants such application, the court shall refer such person (1) to the Court Support Services Division for confirmation of the eligibility of the applicant, (2) to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation and determination of an appropriate drug education or substance abuse treatment program for the first or second time such application is granted, and (3) to a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program for evaluation and determination of an appropriate substance abuse treatment program for the third time such application is granted, except that, if such person is a veteran, the court may refer such person to the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, as applicable, for any such evaluation and determination. For the purposes of this subsection and subsection (d) of this section, “veteran” means any person who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable from active service in the armed forces as defined in section 27-103.
(d) (1) (A) Upon confirmation of eligibility and receipt of the evaluation and determination required under subsection (c) of this section, such person shall be placed in the pretrial drug education and community service program and referred by the Court Support Services Division for the purpose of receiving appropriate drug education services or substance abuse treatment program services, as recommended by the evaluation conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section and ordered by the court, to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or to a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program for placement in the appropriate drug education or substance abuse treatment program, except that, if such person is a veteran, the division may refer such person to the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, subject to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(B) Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for the first time shall participate in either a fifteen-session drug education program or a substance abuse treatment program of not less than fifteen sessions, as ordered by the court on the basis of the evaluation and determination required under subsection (c) of this section. Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for the second time shall participate in either a fifteen-session drug education program or a substance abuse treatment program of not less than fifteen sessions, as ordered by the court based on the evaluation and determination required under subsection (c) of this section. Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for a third time shall be referred to a state-licensed substance abuse program for evaluation and participation in a course of treatment as ordered by the court based on the evaluation and determination required under subsection (c) of this section.
(C) Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program shall also participate in a community service program administered by the Court Support Services Division pursuant to section 53a-39c. Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for the first time shall participate in the community service program for a period of five days. Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for the second time shall participate in the community service program for a period of fifteen days. Persons who have been granted entry into the pretrial drug education and community service program for a third or additional time shall participate in the community service program for a period of thirty days.
(D) Placement in the pretrial drug education and community service program pursuant to this section shall not exceed one year. Persons receiving substance abuse treatment program services in accordance with the provisions of this section shall only receive such services at state-licensed substance abuse treatment program facilities that are in compliance with all state standards governing the operation of such facilities, except that, if such person is a veteran, such person may receive services from facilities under the supervision of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, subject to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(E) Any person who enters the pretrial drug education and community service program shall agree: (i) To the tolling of the statute of limitations with respect to such crime; (ii) to a waiver of such person's right to a speedy trial; (iii) to complete participation in the pretrial drug education and community service program, as ordered by the court; (iv) to commence participation in the pretrial drug education and community service program not later than ninety days after the date of entry of the court order unless granted a delayed entry into the program by the court; and (v) upon completion of participation in the pretrial drug education and community service program, to accept (I) placement in a treatment program upon the recommendation of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or a provider under the supervision of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, or (II) placement in a treatment program that has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, a program of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, if the Court Support Services Division deems it appropriate.
(2) The Court Support Services Division may only refer a veteran to the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Department of Veterans Affairs for the receipt of services under the program if (A) the division determines that such services will be provided in a timely manner under standards substantially similar to, or higher than, standards for services provided by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services under the program, and (B) the applicable department agrees to submit timely program participation and completion reports to the division in the manner required by the division.
(e) If the Court Support Services Division informs the court that such person is ineligible for the program and the court makes a determination of ineligibility or if the program provider certifies to the court that such person did not successfully complete the assigned program and such person did not request, or the court denied, reinstatement in the program under subsection (i) of this section, the court shall order the court file to be unsealed, enter a plea of not guilty for such person and immediately place the case on the trial list.
(f) If such person satisfactorily completes the assigned program, such person may apply for dismissal of the charges against such person and the court, on reviewing the record of such person's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division and on finding such satisfactory completion, shall dismiss the charges. If such person does not apply for dismissal of the charges against such person after satisfactorily completing the assigned program, the court, upon receipt of the record of such person's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges. Upon motion of such person and a showing of good cause, the court may extend the placement period for a reasonable period of time to allow such person to complete the assigned program. A record of participation in such program shall be retained by the Court Support Services Division for a period of ten years from the date the court grants the application for participation in the program.
(g) At the time the court grants the application for participation in the pretrial drug education and community service program, any person ordered to participate in such drug education program shall pay to the court a nonrefundable program fee of six hundred dollars. If the court orders participation in a substance abuse treatment program, such person shall pay to the court a nonrefundable program fee of one hundred dollars and shall be responsible for the costs associated with such program. No person may be excluded from any such program for inability to pay such fee or cost, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court enters a finding thereof. The court may waive all or any portion of such fee depending on such person's ability to pay. If the court finds that a person is indigent or unable to pay for a substance abuse treatment program, the costs of such program shall be paid from the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. If the court denies the application, such person shall not be required to pay the program fee. If the court grants the application, and such person is later determined to be ineligible for participation in such pretrial drug education and community service program or fails to complete the assigned program, the program fee shall not be refunded. All program fees shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.
(h) If a person returns to court with certification from a program provider that such person did not successfully complete the assigned program or is no longer amenable to treatment, the provider, to the extent practicable, shall include a recommendation to the court as to whether placement in a drug education program or placement in a substance abuse treatment program would best serve such person's needs. The provider shall also indicate whether the current program referral was an initial referral or a reinstatement to the program.
(i) When a person subsequently requests reinstatement into a drug education program or a substance abuse treatment program and the Court Support Services Division verifies that such person is eligible for reinstatement into such program and thereafter the court favorably acts on such request, any person reinstated into such drug education program shall pay a nonrefundable program fee of two hundred fifty dollars, and any person reinstated into a substance abuse treatment program shall be responsible for the costs, if any, associated with being reinstated into the treatment program. Unless good cause is shown, such program fee shall not be waived. All program fees collected in connection with a reinstatement to a drug education program shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. No person shall be permitted more than two program reinstatements pursuant to this subsection.
(j) The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall develop standards and oversee appropriate drug education programs that it administers to meet the requirements of this section and may contract with service providers to provide such programs. The department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish standards for such drug education programs.
(k) Any person whose employment or residence or schooling makes it unreasonable to attend a drug education program or substance abuse treatment program in this state may attend a program in another state that has standards similar to, or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court and payment of the program fee or costs as provided in this section.
(P.A. 97-248, S. 7, 12; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, S. 76, 88; P.A. 99-148, S. 1, 4; 99-215, S. 21, 29; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8, S. 10, 13; P.A. 02-132, S. 36; P.A. 07-148, S. 17; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 55; P.A. 10-18, S. 25, 26; 10-30, S. 2; P.A. 12-42, S. 3; P.A. 13-159, S. 1; P.A. 14-56, S. 4; 14-173, S. 6-8; P.A. 15-211, S. 12; P.A. 16-167, S. 45; P.A. 19-151, S. 5.)
History: P.A. 97-248 effective July 1, 1997; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8 amended Subsec. (a) to change the deadline for establishing the program from October 1, 1997 to January 1, 1998, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 99-148 amended Subsec. (a) to make program available to any person charged with a violation of Sec. 21a-279 rather than a violation of only “subsection (c)” of said section, added Subsec. (d)(4) requiring the person to accept placement in a treatment program, amended Subsec. (g) to reduce the program fee from $600 to $350, added new Subsec. (i) to authorize a person to attend a drug program in another state under certain circumstances, and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 99-215 amended Subsec. (b) by deleting “such information or complaint to be filed as a sealed information or complaint” and substituting “the court file sealed” and amended Subsec. (e) by deleting “information or complaint” and substituting “court file”, effective June 29, 1999; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8 amended Subsec. (g) by changing “General Fund” to “pretrial account”, effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-132 replaced “Bail Commission” with “Court Support Services Division” in Subsecs. (c) to (g) and made technical changes in Subsec. (h); P.A. 07-148 amended Subsec. (a) by deleting reference to pilot research drug education program under Sec. 17a-715; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) by specifying that drug education program includes a 10-session and 15-session drug intervention program and a drug treatment program and removing provision re date for establishment of program, amended Subsec. (b) by adding provision re $100 application and evaluation fees, specifying that previous participation in 8, 10 or 15-session drug program or substance abuse treatment under section are grounds for ineligibility in pretrial drug education program and specifying that evaluation and application fees shall be credited to pretrial account, amended Subsec. (c) by adding provision re referral to Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation, amended Subsec. (d) by adding provision re receipt of appropriate services at state licensed facilities for duration not to exceed 1 year, deleting former Subdiv. (3), adding new Subdivs. (3) and (4) re participants agreeing to complete participation in program as recommended by evaluation and to commence participation in program not later than 90 days after date of entry of court order, redesignating existing Subdiv. (4) as Subdiv. (5) and adding therein “upon completion of participation in the pretrial drug education program”, and revising provision re participation in community service labor program, amended Subsec. (e) by adding “and such person did not pursue or the court denied reinstatement in the program under subsection (i) of this section”, amended Subsec. (f) by extending record retention requirements at Court Support Services Division from 7 to 10 years, amended Subsec. (g) to specify $350 fee for 10-session drug intervention program, $500 fee for 15-session drug intervention program, that when court orders participation in a drug treatment program, participant shall be responsible for costs associated with such program and that all program fees shall not be refunded and shall be credited to pretrial account, added new Subsec. (h) re recommendations from program providers when participants do not complete assigned program, added new Subsec. (i) re reinstatement into drug intervention program or substance abuse treatment program, redesignated existing Subsecs. (h) and (i) as Subsecs. (j) and (k) and amended the latter to change “drug program” to “drug intervention program” and add “or substance abuse treatment program”, effective January 1, 2010; P.A. 10-18 made technical changes in Subsecs. (d) and (g); P.A. 10-30 made technical changes, amended Subsec. (d) to substitute “Court Support Services Division” for “department”, amended Subsec. (f) to substitute “date the court grants the application for participation in the program” for “date of application”, amended Subsec. (g) to provide that costs of program be paid from pretrial account if court finds that person is indigent or unable to pay for treatment program, and amended Subsecs. (g) and (k) to reference costs, effective July 1, 2010; P.A. 12-42 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) by adding provisions re referral of and services for persons who are veterans, and made technical changes; P.A. 13-159 amended Subsec. (a) to change name of program from “pretrial drug education program” to “pretrial drug education and community service program”, make persons charged with violation of Sec. 21a-279a eligible for program, change 10-session drug intervention program to 15-week drug education program, provide that substance abuse treatment program be not less than 15 sessions, and require performance of community service, amended Subsec. (b) to change nonrefundable evaluation fee from $100 to $150 and eliminate requirement that person state under oath that such person has never had program invoked on person's behalf, allow person to be eligible who has previously participated in same program or community service labor program, and allow person to participate one additional time for good cause shown, amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to add provisions re referral to Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation and determination of appropriate program for first or second application granted, and to a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program for third application granted, amended Subsec. (d)(1) to designate existing provisions as Subparas. (A), (D) and (E), add Subpara. (B) re participation requirements upon entry to the program for a first, second or third time, add Subpara. (C) re participation in community service program and, in Subpara. (E), delete condition of participation in drug education program that person also participate in community service labor program under Sec. 53a-39c, amended Subsec. (g) to replace $350 fee for 10-session program or $500 fee for 15-session program with $600 fee and nonrefundable program fee of $100, amended Subsec. (i) to substitute “drug education program” for “drug intervention program” and add provision re any person reinstated into a substance abuse treatment program to be responsible for costs associated with being reinstated, and made technical and conforming changes; P.A. 14-56 amended Subsec. (c) to redefine “veteran”, effective May 23, 2014; P.A. 14-173 amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to 15-session drug intervention program, amended Subsec. (c) to add “and determination” re referral of veteran, and amended Subsec. (d)(1) to substitute “drug education” for “drug intervention” re services in Subpara. (A) and add provision re substance abuse treatment program of not less than 15 sessions in Subpara. (B); P.A. 15-211 amended Subsecs. (a), (b) and (d) by replacing references to drug education and community service program with references to pretrial drug education and community service program, amended Subsecs. (a) and (d) by substituting “fifteen-session” for “fifteen-week”, and made technical changes in Subsecs. (g) and (i); P.A. 16-167 amended Subsecs. (c) and (d) to replace “Department of Veterans' Affairs” with “Department of Veterans Affairs”, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 19-151 amended Subsec. (b) by replacing “Upon application by any such person for participation in such program and payment to the court of an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred fifty dollars, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed.” with “Upon application by any such person for participation in such program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, and such person shall pay to the court of an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred fifty dollars.”, effective July 8, 2019.
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Sec. 54-56j. Pretrial school violence prevention program. (a) There shall be a school violence prevention program for students of a public or private secondary school charged with an offense involving the use or threatened use of physical violence in or on the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school or at a school-sponsored activity as defined in subsection (h) of section 10-233a. Upon application by any such person for participation in such program, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, and such person shall state under oath, in open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths, under penalties of perjury that such person has never had such system invoked in such person's behalf and that such person has not been convicted of an offense involving the threatened use of physical violence in or on the real property comprising a public or private elementary or secondary school or at a school-sponsored activity as defined in subsection (h) of section 10-233a, and that such person has not been convicted in any other state at any time of an offense the essential elements of which are substantially the same as such an offense.
(b) The court, after consideration of the recommendation of the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case, may, in its discretion, grant such application. If the court grants such application, it shall refer such person to the Court Support Services Division for assessment and confirmation of the eligibility of the applicant. The Court Support Services Division, in making its assessment and confirmation, may rely on the representations made by the applicant under oath in open court with respect to convictions in other states of offenses specified in subsection (a) of this section. As a condition of eligibility for participation in such program, the student and the parents or guardian of such student shall certify under penalty of false statement that, to the best of such person's knowledge and belief, such person does not possess any firearms, dangerous weapons, controlled substances or other property or materials the possession of which is prohibited by law or in violation of the law. Upon confirmation of eligibility, the defendant shall be referred to the Court Support Services Division for evaluation and placement in an appropriate school violence prevention program for one year.
(c) Any person who enters the program shall agree: (1) To the tolling of the statute of limitations with respect to such crime, (2) to a waiver of the right to a speedy trial, (3) to participate in a school violence prevention program offered by a provider under contract with the Court Support Services Division pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, and (4) to successfully complete the assigned program. If the Court Support Services Division informs the court that the defendant is ineligible for the program and the court makes a determination of ineligibility or if the program provider certifies to the court that the defendant did not successfully complete the assigned program, the court shall order the court file to be unsealed, enter a plea of not guilty for such defendant and immediately place the case on the trial list.
(d) The Court Support Services Division shall monitor the defendant's participation in the assigned program and the defendant's compliance with the orders of the court including, but not limited to, maintaining contact with the student and officials of the student's school.
(e) If such defendant satisfactorily completes the assigned program and one year has elapsed since the defendant was placed in the program, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant and the court, on reviewing the record of such defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division and on finding such satisfactory completion, shall dismiss the charges. If the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against the defendant after satisfactorily completing the assigned program and one year has elapsed since the defendant was placed in the program, the court, upon receipt of the record of the defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges.
(f) The cost of participation in such program shall be paid by the parent or guardian of such student, except that no student shall be excluded from such program for inability to pay such cost provided (1) the parent or guardian of such student files with the court an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay, and (2) the court enters a finding thereof.
(g) The Court Support Services Division shall contract with service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate school violence prevention programs to meet the requirements of this section.
(h) The school violence prevention program shall consist of group counseling sessions in anger management and nonviolent conflict resolution.
(P.A. 99-259, S. 2, 3; P.A. 10-43, S. 23; P.A. 17-99, S. 20; P.A. 19-151, S. 6.)
History: P.A. 99-259 effective January 1, 2000; P.A. 10-43 replaced “Bail Commission” and “Office of Alternative Sanctions” with “Court Support Services Division”, effective May 18, 2010; P.A. 17-99 amended Subsec. (h) by deleting “at least eight” re group counseling sessions; P.A. 19-151 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “provided such person states” with “and such person shall state”, effective July 8, 2019.
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