Petition — Carbone v. Connecticut
Supreme Court brief1977
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ä—— ——
Supreme Court, U. 8.
— F IL F. D
| APR 18 1977
1
| MICHAEL RODAK, JR., CLERK
IN THE
Supreme Court of the United States
Ocroser TERM, 1976
JAMES CARBONE,
Petitioner,
—v.—
Srark oF CoNNECTICUT,
Respondent.
—
—
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
Z xls, Neepte & Cooper, P. C.
333 State Street, P.O. Box 1740
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06601
Attorneys for Petitioner
Jacosp D. ZeLpEs
ELAINE S. AMENDOLA
Of Counsel
— — — —
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
r iain 1
. 2
, STE AE nD 5
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Involved — 3
r rc 3
The Facts Material to the Federal Questions 3
The Manner of Raising the Federal Questions ... 7
Reasons for Granting the Writtt 10
r ̃ ...... . 23
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases:
Abney, et al. v. United States, —— U.S. ——, 44 USS.
L. W. 3719 (June 14, 1976) (No. 75-6521) 14
Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964) — 17
Bins v. United States, 331 F.2d 390 (5 Cir. 1964) ....10, 15
Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543 (1968) 18, 19
The Confiscation Cases, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 92 (1873) . 13
Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974) 22
PAGE
Ellis v. United States, 416 F.2d 791 (D.C. Cir. 1969) .. 22
Garner v. United States, —— U.S. ——, 47 L.Ed.2d
366 (1976) .......... Ce 7 = |
Grunewald v. United States, 353 U.S. 391 (1957) ... 21
Hagner v. United States, 285 U.S. 427 (1932) 13
Marchetti v. United States, 390 U.S. 39 (1968) 21
Rogers v. United States, 340 U.S. 367 (1950) -.......... 22
Russell v. United States, 369 U.S. 749 (1962) ..12, 13, 15-16
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973) ........ 18, 19
Sgro v. United States, 278 U.S. 206 (1932) 18
State v. Huot, 170 Conn. 463 (1976) 11,12
State v. Palkimas, 153 Conn. 555 (1966) 12
Thompson v. Louisville, 362 U.S. 199 (1960) 11
United States v. Bachman, 164 F. Supp. 898 (D.C.
1 ⁵Üv—— ²—ͤ ͤ ————— .
United States v. Droms, —— F.2d ——, slip op. 2035
(2 Cir. Feb. 25, 1977) No. 761222. 15
United States v. Goodman, 285 F.2d 378 (5 Cir. 1960) 15
United States v. Hicks, 529 F.2d 841 (5 Cir. 1976) — 15
United States v. Kodel, 397 U.S. 1 (1970) 21
United States v. Leggett, 312 F.2d 566 (4 Cir. 1962) — 15
United States v. Starks, et al., 515 F.2d 112 (5 Cir.
1 14
PAGE
Constitutional Provisions:
U.S. Constitution:
F !(. e 9, 77a
% r 9, 10, 14, 20, 77a
r 9, 10, 11, 22, 77a
r 22, 78a
Statutes:
r x 14
1 U—I — 2
§53-53a Conn. Gen. Stat. (1958 Rev.) 7
§53-63a Conn. Gen. Stat. (1958 Rev. 11, 79a
653-65 Conn. Gen. Stat. (1958 RevAY 7. 11, 79a
Other Authority:
1 C. Wright Federal Practice and Procedure 5142 at
c 12
In THE
Supreme Court of the United States
Ocroper Term, 1976
——
2
JaMEs CARBONE,
Petitioner,
—.—
State or ConNECTICUT,
Respondent.
—
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
Petitioner James Carbone prays that a writ of certiorari
issue to review the final judgment of the Supreme Court
of Connecticut announced January 18, 1977.
Opinions Below
The opinions of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, re-
produced in the appendix to this petition (28a, 5la),’ are
reported at Vols. XXXVI, No. 37 Conn. L.J. 5 (1975) and
XXXVIII, No. 29 Conn. L.. 8 (1977).
References to the numbered pages of the appendix to this peti-
tion are indicated ( a).
Jurisdiction
The Judgment of the Supreme Court of Connecticut was
entered on January 18, 1977. A timely motion for reargu-
ment was denied on February 3, 1977, the effective date
of judgment. The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked un-
der 28 U.S.C. 51257 (3).
Questions Presented
This case involves a conviction for four separate alleged
violations of larceny and raises these questions:
1. Does the conviction of petitioner on an information
which is duplicitous in that each of the four counts dis-
junctively charges petitioner with the mutually exclusive
offenses of theft and of receiving stolen goods, violate
petitioner’s right to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation against him and deny him due process of
law as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amend-
ments to the Constitution of the United States?
2. Did petitioner freely and voluntarily waive his rights
under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Con-
stitution of the United States during a search by a large
search party of civilians and police pursuant to a hope-
lessly stale warrant which did not authorize a search for
the item seized?
3. Was petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to confront
the witnesses against him erroneously sacrificed in defer-
ence to the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimi-
nation when the trial court barred petitioner’s attempt to
show the bias and interest of the State’s principal wit-
nesses through cross-examination of them concerning their
invocation of the privilege in prior civil proceedings?
Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Involved
U.S. Constitution, Amend. IV, V, VI and XIV.
§53-63a Conn. Gen. Stat. (1958 Rev.).
§53-65 Conn. Gen. Stat. (1958 Rev.)
Statement
The Facts Material to the Federal Questions
Petitioner James Carbone, and his brother Peter Car-
bone' were tried and convicted upon substituted informa-
tions charging each of them with four counts of larceny
committed on distinct dates in January and February,
1971 (28a, 5la).
In May of 1971, management at the Carpenter Tech-
nology Corporation became aware of a large inventory
shortage in metals used at its plant in Bridgeport, Con-
necticut. On July 14, 1971, Albert Edwards and Russell
Scofield, both employees of Carpenter, were apprehended
while stealing pure nickel from the Carpenter plant (44a).
A short time after their arrests, both Edwards and
Scofield began “cooperating” with the Bridgeport police
and with persons connected with Carpenter and its insur-
ance carrier. In early August, 1971, each of the thieves
* Reproduced in the appendix (77-79a).
The Court below erroneously refers to Peter Carbone as
James son (31a, 53a).
ad
4
gave statements to Detective Cafferty of the Bridgeport
Police Department claiming that on four different dates
in January and February of 1971, they had stolen from
Carpenter quantities of nickel, iron and copper and had
sold and delivered the metals to petitioner and his brother
at Fairfield Scrap Iron and Metal Company owned by
petitioner. The State’s case rested almost entirely on the
testimony of the two thieves. One of the items offered in
evidence, however, which the State claimed corroborated
their testimony was a phony receipt slip which Scofield
claimed he had signed in an assumed name, “John Parks,”
when making a delivery to Fairfield Scrap (29a, 52a).
On September 2, 1971, approximately seven month after
the alleged thefts, Detective Cafferty and Robert Magee,
an employee of Carpenter, obtained a state search and
seizure warrant authorizing a search of Fairfield Scrap
for the alleged stolen metals and two chains and a tar-
paulin used in handling the metals, none of which items
were found on the premises (7a, 32a, 54a). No authority to
search for or seize books and records was sought or ob-
tained.
Detectives Cafferty and Magee then returned to Car-
penter where they began to amass a large search party.
In addition to Magee, Henry Popowski, Foreman of the
Melt Shop at Carpenter was invited to help identify ques-
tioned items. Alfred Constantino, a special investigator for
Carpenter’s insurance carrier was brought along for no
apparent reason. Another Bridgeport policeman, two Fair-
field officers and an F. B. I. agent rounded out the party. It
was that formidable group which descended en masse, in
four vehicles, on Fairfield Scrap about 2:00 P.M. on Sep-
tember 2, 1971 (30a, 52a-54a).
All of the persons in the search party, both police officers
and civilians were dressed in civilian clothes (30a, 53a).
When the search party arrived at Fairfield Scrap, Sargeant
Targowski, the senior Fairfield Police Officer, sought out
petitioner or Peter Carbone, but petitioner was not present
(3la, 53a). Targowski displayed the warrant to Peter
Carbone and advised him of his purpose on the premises
(3la-53a). All eight of the search party, including the
civilians, fanned out around the premises for purposes of
the search (32a, 54a). The officers in charge, Cafferty and
Targowski, were both aware of the fact that the warrant
did not authorize a search for any books and papers of
Fairfield Scrap (33a, 55a). On the way to the premises
before the search, Detective Cafferty had a conversation
with the insurance investigator, Constantino, concerning a
search for slips and records with the thieves’ names on
them, and Cafferty told him not to search for anything,
but if they happen to see anything with those names on it,
to let him know (30a, 53a).
Shortly after the search began, petitioner arrived, as
did his son and employee, Frank Carbone. After the
search party had been on the premises for an hour or so,
Constantino asked Frank, in petitioner’s presence, if it
would be alright to search through their sales receipts
(32a, 54a). Before that time Detective Cafferty had given
both petitioner and Peter Carbone their “Miranda” warn-
ings, but at no time did he warn them that they need not
allow any search for items not named in the warrant, nor
did he specifically tell anyone just what was in the war-
rant (3la-33a, 54a-55a). Petitioner never took the warrant
and read it, and there was no indication that anyone read
any portion of the warrant to him (3la, 53a). Although
Detective Cafferty took ao part in the Constantino-Carbone
conversation, he was present and within earshot when the
request was made of Frank Carbone (32a, 54a). Detec-
tive Cafferty remained silent even though he knew a very
possible result of Constantino’s question was that a search
would take place; Detective Cafferty did not tell any of
the Carbones who Constantino was prior to the request
for sales receipts and records (32a, 54a).
Frank Carbone got the receipts in response to Constan-
tino’s request; the two civilians, Constantino and Popowski,
looked through them, and Popowski found the “John
Parks“ slip (32a-33a, 54a). Petitioner made no objection
to Frank getting the sales receipts (32a, 54a). Prior to
that search, neither Popowski nor Constantino had had any
conversation with the Carbones nor had they informed
them that they were civilians and not any “official” part
of the search party. Neither Constantino nor Popowski
had ever asked any permission to come on the premises
(32a, 54a). The Carbones were not asked to sign a consent
to search form, although the Bridgeport police have such
forms, nor were they ever advised by anyone that the
seizure of the slip was beyond the scope of the warrant
(33a, 55a). When they left three and a half hours later,
the search party had found nothing named in the warrant,
but had taken the “John Parks” receipt which was later
admitted at trial (34a).
Petitioner and co-defendant Peter Carbone each main-
tained his innoc nee and both testified to that effect at
the trial, which involved deeply disputed issues of fact.
As noted by the court below, the State’s case “hinged in
the main part upon the credibility of the witnesses Scofield
and Edwards” (34a).
7
During the trial, a number of significant evidentiary
issues arose. During the cross-examination of the two
principal State’s witnesses, Albert Edwards and Russell
Scofield, petitioner and the co-defendant sought to show
that each of them had, in earlier depositions in a civil
action arising out of the same alleged facts, pleaded a
Fifth Amendment privilege to avoid giving any informa-
tion or testimony to the defendants in the criminal action
(10a). Both Scofield and Edwards, long prior to the time
of those depositions, had given to the police lengthy sworn
statements which had hopelessly incriminated them (10a-
lla). Seofield, in fact, had already pleaded guilty and was
waiting sentence on charges arising out of the subject
matter of his proposed deposition testimony (lla). The
testimony was offered on the issue of the credibility of
the two thieves, to show interest in the prosecution and
bias against the defendants (12a). The trial court sus-
tained the prosecution objection to such offers, and both
defendants excepted (12a).
The jury returned a verdict of “guilty as charged” on
each of the four counts (29a) and petitioner was sentenced
to a term of incarceration of not less than three years
and not more than nine years in the State’s prison.
The Manner of Raising the Federal Questions
Petitioner was charged in a substituted information with
four separate counts of larceny in violation of §53-63a of
the Connecticut General Statutes (1958 Rev.)“ (Sa). In
his Motion for a Bill of Particulars he asked the State
to specify, inter alia, whether he was charged as a princi-
pal thief or as a receiver of stolen goods under 453-65,
* Repealed October 1, 1971.
not specifically cited in the information, which motion was
denied (8a).
At the end of the State’s case, petitioner moved to dis-
miss the information on the ground that each count was
defective as duplicitous in that each count charged two
separate crimes, which motion was denied (12a). Also, at
the end of the State’s case, petitioner filed a motion to
require the State to elect a single theory of guilt with
respect to each count: either as a principal or accessory
to the thefts or as a receiver of stolen goods, which mo-
tion was denied (13a).
Finally, petitioner requested the trial judge to charge
the jury on a theory of one or the other, claiming that
it would be improper to put both theories to the jury on
each count (14a). Nevertheless, the judge submitted the
case to the jury with three theories of guilt on each count:
theft, accessory to theft or receiving stolen property (15a-
26a). In his charge, to which exception was taken (27a),
the trial court stated:
“You may find the defendant guilty of either larceny or
the offense of receiving and concealing stolen goods, but
not of both offenses as to any one count.” (Emphasis
added.) (15a).
As to petitioner’s claim that he was entitled to know
whether on each count he was being tried as a principal
thief or as a receiver of stolen goods, the court below held
that it was error to deny petitioner’s request for a bill of
particulars, but that it was harmless because
“experienced counsel for James Carbone was aware
that §53-63a was violated either by larceny or by re-
ceipt of stolen property; otherwise he would not have
— — 2 — —
asked the prosecution to elect between the two theories.
He undoubtedly understood the State’s refusal to elect
as an implicit statement that it was charging both
and would endeavor to prove either.” (Emphasis
added.) (66a).
The Fourth Amendmert issues regarding the search and
seizure were raised by petitioner’s motion to suppress and
for return of property which was denied in the trial court
(9a). On the first appeal in this proceeding, the Supreme
Court of Connecticut reversed on the search issue holding,
inter alia, that “[t]here clearly was merit to the claim that
the warrant was stale” and that the illegality of entry due
to the staleness of the warrant was a factor to be con-
sidered on the question of voluntariness (40a).
On remand, the trial court again denied the motion to
suppress and the former judgment of conviction was re-
instated without a new trial (51a). On the second appeal,
the Supreme Court of Connecticut upheld the search as
consensual, and reached the other issues which it had not
decided on the first appeal (60a).
With respect to petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right
to cross-examine the State’s witnesses about their prior
invocation of their Fifth Amendment privilege against
self-incrimination, the court below held that “[t]he prior
invocation of a constitutional privilege can be motivated
by so many factors other than bias that the court was
within its discretion in excluding cross-examination on this
matter as irrelevant” (68a).
10
Reasons for Granting the Writ
Review of the decision below by this Court is called for
(1) because this Court has never proclaimed that a con-
viction on a duplicitous count cannot withstand constitu-
tional scrutiny and the ruling of the court below stands in
blatant defiance of this Court’s pronouncements regarding
fundamental fairness and an accused’s right to know the
nature of the accusation against him; (2) because the court
below failed to apply the established principles of this
Court in ruling on the staleness of the warrant and the
voluntariness of the consent to search; and clarification
of the constitutional safeguards is called for in light of
recent developments in the law of search and seizure; and
(3) because this Court has not previously determined
whether an accused’s Sixth Amendment right to cross-
examine the witnesses against him must give way to a
prosecution witness’ Fifth Amendment privilege against
self-incrimination, and this issue—significant to our ad-
versary procedure—was decided by the court below in
contravention of the applicable principles set forth by this
Court.
L
To this very day, neither petitioner nor anyone else,
except perhaps the jury, knows whet' er the verdict of
“guilty as charged” (29a) convicted him of the crime of
theft or of the crime of receiving stolen property. Nor
does anyone know whether petitioner was adjudged a thief
with respect to some counts and a receiver of stolen prop-
erty with respect to other counts, a thief on all counts or a
receiver on all counts. See Bins v. United States, 331 F.2d
390, 393 (5 Cir. 1964).
— Ate were
—— — —————— ̃ —
11
Whereas review of criminal convictions in the past few
decades has largely been concerned with the refinement of
legal concepts defining the parameters of individual liber-
ties under the Bill of Rights, petitioner asks this Court to
reaffirm one of the most elementary principles of criminal
justice- his right “to be informed of the nature and cause
of the accusation” against him, as guaranteed by the Sixth
Amendment.
Petitioner’s request for certiorari is based on reasons
similar to those which gave rise to the landmark case of
Thompson v. Louisville, 362 U.S. 199 (1960), in which this
Court reversed a police court conviction with a reaffirma-
tion of the basic principle that it is a violation of due
process to convict a man without evidence of his guilt.
Petitioner seeks review of the decision of the court below
—which conveniently categorized the fundamental flaw of
duplicity in the charge as harmless error—in order to
reaffirm the fundamental principle that it is a violation of
due process and the Sixth Amendment to convict a man
without. ever telling him the offense with which he is
charged and upon which he stands convicted.
As the court below noted, under Connecticut’s larceny
statute §53-63a, one can be charged either as a principal in
the theft or as a receiver of stolen property under an ac-
cessory statute, 553-65. But, as the Supreme Court of
Connecticut recently held, “the essential elements of re-
ceiving stolen goods are materially different from those of
the crime of theft.” State v. Huot, 170 Conn. 463, 468
(1976).° Receiving stolen property, moreover, is not a
„The essential elements of the crime of receiving stolen goods
are: (1) The property must have been stolen. (2) It must
12
lesser included offense within larceny. Id. The two of-
fenses, theft and receiving stolen property under Con-
necticut law are mutually exclusive in that one cannot be
both a principal thief and a receiver of the same goods.
State v. Palkimas, 153 Conn. 555, 561 (1966). Yet, peti-
tioner, as noted, was charged with both offenses in each
count and the jury was told that he could be convicted of
one or the other under each count (15a).
Duplicity, the joining in a single count of two or more
distinct and separate offenses, 1 C. Wright repERAL PRac-
TICE AND PROCEDURE 5142 at 306 (1969), has several inherent
vices, of which the most obvious is the violation of the
basic principle that the accused must be apprised by the
indictment or information with reasonable certainty of the
nature of the accusation against him. Russell v. United
States, 369 U.S. 749, 766 (1962).
As this Court observed long ago:
“It may be conceded that an indictment or a criminal
information which charges the person accused, in the
disjunctive, with being guilty of one or another of
several offenses, would be destitute of the necessary
certainty, and would be wholly insufficient. It would
be so for two reasons. It would not give the accused
definite notice of the offense charged, and thus enable
have been received by the accused with the knowledge that it
was stolen. (3) It must have been concealed within the mean-
ing of the law. (4) It must have been received and con-
cealed by the accused with a felonious intent. The ele-
ments of larceny, on the other hand, are: ‘(1) the wrong-
ful taking or carrying away of the personal property of
another; (2) the existence of a felonious intent in the taker
to deprive the owner of it permanently; and (3) the lack
of the consent of the owner.’” State v. Huot, supra, 170
Conn. at 467-468.
v
13
him to defend himself, and neither a conviction nor an
acquittal could be pleaded in bar to a subsequent
prosecution.” The Confiscation Cases, 87 U.S. (20
Wall.) 92, 104 (1873).
More recently this Court has decreed the test for deter-
mining the sufficiency of the charging document to be
whether it contains the elements of the offense intended
to be charged; whether it sufficiently apprises the defendant
of what he must be prepared to meet; and, in case any
other proceedings are taken against him for a similar
offense, whether the record shows with accuracy to what
extent he may plead a former acquittal or conviction.
Hagner v. United States, 285 U.S. 427, 431 (1932); Russell
v. United States, supra, 369 U.S. at 763.
Furthermore, prosecution of petitioner on the same
count for two mutually exclusive offenses with materially
different elements renders it impossible for any court to
determine whether petitioner was afforded the requisite
protection of the Due Process Clause “against conviction
except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact
necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged.”
In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364 (1970).
What the court said of the uncertainty and unfairness”
of the indictment in Russell seems equally applicable to
the duplicitous information here in that it
“requires the defendant to go to trial with the chief issue
undefined. It enables his conviction to rest on one
point and the affirmance of the conviction to rest on
another. It gives the prosecution free hand on appeal
to fill in the gaps of proof by surmise or conjecture.”
Russell v. United States, supra, 369 U.S. at 766.
14
Reversing a conviction founded on a duplicitous indict-
ment under the Hobbs Act,“ the Third Circuit recently ex-
plained the vices inherent in duplicity:
„. .. One vice of duplicity is that a general verdict for a
defendant on that count does not reveal whether the
jury found him not guilty of one crime or not guilty of
both. Conceivably this could prejudice the defendant
in protecting himself against double jeopardy. Another
vice of duplicity is that a general verdict of guilty does
not disclose whether the jury found the defendant
guilty of one crime or of both. Conceivably, this could
prejudice the defendant in sentencing and in obtaining
appellate review. A third vice of duplicity is that it
may prejudice the defandant with respect to eviden-
tiary rulings during the trial, since evidence admissible
on one offense might be inadmissible on the other
Finally, there is no way of knowing with a general
verdict on two separate offenses joined in a single count
whether the jury was unanimous with respect to either.”
United States v. Starks, et al., 515 F.2d 112, 116-117
(5 Cir. 1975).’
In Starks, prejudicial error was found even though the
trial court had conscientiously sought to charge the jury
so as to eliminate the problems associated with the duplic-
itous indictment, by instructing the jury that in order to
find any defendant guilty, it must find that the essential
elements of both offenses had been proved. In the pending
*18 U.S.C. §1951, which proseribes a number of separate offenses
as does the Connecticut larceny statute under which petitioner
was charged.
On remand, the defendants in the Starks case, moved to dis-
miss on the ground that the Fifth Amendment’s double jeopardy
clause bars retrial of defendants convicted by a jury whose general
verdict of guilty on the duplicitous indictment failed to disclose
whether the jury found each defendant guilty of one crime or
both. On that issue, this Court has granted certiorari sub nom.
Abney, et al. v. United States, —— U.S. ——, 44 U.S.L.W. 3719
(June 14, 1976) (No. 75-6521).
15
case, where the tr judge gave instructions reinforcing the
disjunctive and, therefore, duplicitous counts, a fortiori
the error is prejudicial.
Duplicity need not be fatal, however, and lower federal
courts have found that the harm caused by duplicity can
be cured by a motion to dismiss or by requiring the prosecu-
tion to make an election prior to the submission of the
case to the jury. United States v. Hicks, 529 F.2d 841, 843
(5 Cir. 1976); Bins v. United States, 331 F.2d 390, 393 (5
Cir. 1964); United States v. Goodman, 285 F.2d 378, 380
(5 Cir. 1960); United States v. Droms, F.2d ——, slip
op. 2035 (2 Cir. Feb. 25, 1977), No. 76-1232; United States
v. Bachman, 164 F.Supp. 898 (D.C. 1958). Where an elec-
tion is not made, the error is incurable and harmful per se.
United States v. Leggett, 312 F.2d 566, 568 (4 Cir. 1962).
The conscientious and repeated efforts of petitioner’s
counsel to invoke such remedies not only were denied by the
trial court but, indeed, were used by the court below to
justify its rationale that the error was not prejudicial
since counsel’s attempts to cure this defective prosecution
indicated his awareness that he should have been prepared
to defend against both offenses on each count.
„A] salutary development in the criminal law“, Russell
v. United States, supra, 369 U.S. at 763, is how this Court
has characterized the trend that convictions are no longer
reversed because of minor and technical deficiencies in the
charging papers which do not prejudice the accused. “But,”
this Court has admonished, “the substantial safeguards to
those charged with serious crimes cannot be eradicated
under the guise of technical departures from the rules.”
Ibid. To permit petitioner’s conviction to stand on this
duplicitous and fatally defective information would flout
16
the proclamation that “the basic principles of fundamental
fairness retain their full vitality under modern concepts of
pleading.” Id. at 765-766.
II.
“There clearly was merit to the claim that the warrant
was stale and the court erred in failing to consider this
circumstance in determining the issue of consent.”
(40a).
With that ruling in its original opinion, the court below
found error in the denial of petitioner’s motion to suppress
and remanded the case to the trial court (42a). In support
of its ruling on staleness, the court below had stated:
“Thus the unsupported observation by Detective Caf-
ferty that the items are ‘reported to be on [sic] the
current custody and care of the premises’ is insufficient
to establish continuity, and, thus, we are unable to find
that there is a substantial basis for the issuing judge’s
conclusion that probable cause presently existed.” .
(Emphasis added). (39a).
On remand, the same trial judge again upheld the search
(50a). But, when the case came up on appeal the second
time, the court below reviewing the very same affidavit in
support of the warrant (la), found the warrant valid,
affirming the trial court’s conclusion that “the apparatus
[two chains and tarpaulin for handling metals] probably
would have remained on the premises and the warrant was
therefore not stale” (58a).“
. ® Petitioner submits that the holding by the court below on the
first appeal that the warrant was stale is the law of the case and
it was error to overrule its prior holding on the mere conjecture
of the trial judge on remand.
17
Petitioner submits that the finding of probable cause to
believe that the chains and tarpaulin would still be on the
premises some six to seven months after the alleged thefts
cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny.
It is axiomatic that probable cause for the issuance of a
search warrant must be tested solely by the facts and cir-
cumstances set forth in the affidavit supporting the warrant.
Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 112 (1964). This axiom
seems to have been completely ignored by those who re-
viewed the affidavit including the judge who issued the
warrant, the trial judge and the court below. Judicial re-
view of this search warrant is a classic example of “mere
affirmance of belief or suspicion” which this Court has held
is “not enough.” Ibid.
There is not a single fact or circumstance in this affidavit
to support the inferences of the trial court that the chains
and tarpaulin had ever been removed from the alleged
stolen metals, that such items would have been useful to the
Carbones in their business or were not ordinarily bought
and sold in that business, or that the items had any par-
ticular value. In fact, the only claim in the affidavit con-
cerning the chains and tarpaulin was that they were alleged
to have been delivered to Fairfield Scrap along with the
stolen metals in January and February, 1971 (3a). Fur-
thermore, nothing set forth in the affidavit remotely con-
nects the attempted thefts from Carpenter in July, 1971
with the Carbones or Fairfield Scrap and Metal. An equally
plausible inference is that the thieves had found another
source for their stolen metals.
The finding of probable cause by the court below—based
as it was on nothing remotely set forth in the affidavit, but
18
on the pure speculation of the trial judge—blatantly con-
flicts with this Court’s pronouncement that the determina-
tion of whether there is probable cause to believe that the
items to be seized presently exist on the premises to be
searched “cannot be left to mere inference or conjecture”.
Sgro v. United States, 278 U.S. 206, 211 (1932).
Even assuming arguendo, however, that the warrant was
not stale and the search party was legally on the premises,
since the warrant itself did not authorize a search for
business papers and records, the burden was on the state
to justify the warrantless seizure of the “John Parks”
receipt. Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 548
(1968); Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 221
(1973).
In finding that petitioner freely and voluntarily con-
sented to the search for the sales receipts, the court below
virtually ignored the facts and misapplied the law. Con-
sidering that there was massive police presence on the
scene, that the police had already been searching the
premises for an hour before the request to search for the
sales receipts was made, that petitioner was not told that
Constantino who made the request was a civilian, that
petitioner was not informed that no one had authority to
search for the sales receipts, and that petitioner had no
knowledge that he could legally resist the search, the most
that can be said for petitioner’s “consent” is that he tacitly
acquiesced and did nothing to prevent the search.
In an analogous situation, this Court has ruled that the
burden on the State “cannot be discharged by showing
no more than acquiescence to a claim of lawful authority.”
Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543, 549 (1968). The
finding of free and voluntary consent by the court below
19
cannot stand in light of this Court’s holding in Bumper
that as a matter of law:
“When a law enforcement officer claims authority to
search a home under a warrant, he announces in effect
that the occupant has no right to resist the search. The
situation is instinct with coercion—albeit colorably
lawful coercion. Where there is coercion there cannot
be consent.” bid.
This Court’s balancing of the two competing concerns
which must be accommodated in determining the meaning
of a voluntary consent“ the legitimate need” for the search
and “the equally important requirement of assuring the
absence of coercion”, Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, supra 412
U.S. at 227,—strengthens petitioner’s claim of error. In
the present case, the failure to obtain a warrant to search
for the records was termed “an oversight” (30a, 52a).
The police had waited over two weeks after the thieves
had been apprehended to obtain the warrant for the stolen
materials. Detective Cafferty knew and had informed the
other members of the search party that they could not
search for the sales receipts (30a, 153a). Rather than go
back and obtain a legitimate search warrant, Detective
Cafferty while on the way to the premises (30a, 31a, 53a),
embarked on a deliberate, premeditated, albeit deceitful
course of using a civilian to obtain consent from the Car-
bones.
Consent so obtained hardly comports with this Court’s
standards of voluntariness, and such improper police ac-
tivity should not be condoned.
III.
The two thieves, Edwards and Scofield, were the prin-
cipal State's witnesses; without them, simply, the State had
no case. At all times since they were arrested in July of
1971, Edwards and Scofield cooperated fully with the
authorities. After consultation with counsel, each gave
complete statements to the State and, intending always to
plead guilty, helped prepare the prosecution against the
Carbones. Scofield, in fact, had already pleaded guilty to
the thefts by the time of the deposition (IIa).
During cross-examination of Scofield and Edwards, the
defense proffered questions calculated to bring out the fact
that each had pleaded the Fifth Amendment privilege in
response to ail questions asked in the course of depositions
taken in a civil action brought by Carpenter Steel against
the Carbones, Scofield and Edwards (10a, 68a). The pur-
pose of the cross-examination, which was barred by the
trial court, was to impeach the credibility of the State’s
two most crucial witnesses (10a, 68a).“
»The defense claimed that such reliance upon the privilege, long
after they had decided to cooperate with the police and plead
guilty was in bad faith. It demonstrated a pure desire to “help”
the prosecution and to prevent the defendants from learning, in
advance, what their testimony would be at trial. It was offered to
show an interest on the part of both Scofield and Edwards in the
outcome of the criminal trial, and to show bias against the de-
fendants. Such inferences were permissible, intelligent conclusions
that the jury might have drawn, and used in weighing the credi-
bility of Scofield and Edwards.
The court below upheld the restriction on cross-examination on
the basis that the invocation of the privilege could have been
motivated by factors other than bias (68a). The question as to
whether or not the jury would have thought necessarily that the
invocation of the privilege showed bias is not truly the issue;
21
The only case relied on by the court below to support its
denial of petitioner’s right to cross-examine the State’s wit-
nesses is Grunewald v. United States, 353 U.S. 391 (1957).
But Grunewald, held it prejudicial error to allow the
Government to cross-examine the defendant about his prior
invocation of the privilege before the grand jury since the
assertion of the privilege was consistent with the de-
fendant’s innocence and such cross-examination would be
highly prejudicial to the defendant. Grunewald barred
cross-examination to insure fairness to the defendant and,
therefore, is wholly inapposite. Moreover the witnesses in
the pending case had admitted their guilt and could not
have been prejudiced by the questioning.
An individual under compuision to make disclosure as
a witness who revealed information instead of claiming
the privilege has been held to lose the benefit of the priv-
ilege. United States v. Kodel, 397 U.S. 1, 7-10 (1970).
More recently, in Garner v. United States, —— U.S. —,
47 L.Ed.2d 366 (1976), this Court held that a taxpayer’s
incriminating disclosures on his tax returns instead of
claiming the privilege, as he had a right to do, could sub-
sequently be used against him in a federal criminal prose-
cution.
This Court, moreover, has consistently disallowed re-
fusals to testify when there is no “real” and substantial
“hazard of incrimination,” see Marchetti v. United States,
390 U.S. 39, 48, 53 (1968), and has held that a witness who
volunteered incriminating answers to the grand jury could
not thereafter invoke the privilege as to details which
rather, the question is whether or not there was a reasonable
enough inference or argument of such bias that the defense should
have been entitled to explore the matter.
22
“would not further incriminate.” Rogers v. United States,
340 U.S. 367, 373 (1950).
Petitioner submits that Scofield and Edwards each had
effectively waived his privilege against self-incrimination
prior to its invocation during the civil proceedings. Having
already confessed to their roles in the crimes, there was no
real and substantial hazard of incrimination at the deposi-
tions.
A primary interest secured by the confrontation clause
is the right of cross-examination which traditionally has
allowed the cross-examiner “to impeach, i.e. discredit, the
witness.” Davis v. Alaska, 415 U.S. 308 (1974). In Davis
this Court held:
“The State’s policy interest in protecting the confiden-
tiality of a juvenile offender’s record cannot require
yielding of so vital a constitutional right as the effective
cross-examination for bias of an adverse witness.” 415
U.S. at 320.
Petitioner seeks review by this Court to resolve the ten-
sion between his right of confrontation under the Sixth
Amendment and the privilege against self-incrimination of
the Fifth Amendment invoked by the State’s chief witnesses
in prior proceedings. Petitioner submits that, under the
circumstances of this case, his right to cross-examine the
witnesses against him in order to impeach their credibility
as guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments
to the Constitution of the United States should have pre-
vailed.
© A conflict exists among the Circuits as to whether a waiver
of the privilege at one proceeding carries through to another pro-
ceeding but the sounder rule is that it does. Ellis v. United States,
416 F.2d 791, 800 (D.C. Cir. 1969).
23
CONCLUSION
For these reasons, then, this Court should—and peti-
tioner requests that it does—issue its writ of certiorari to
review the judgment of the court below.
Respectfully submitted,
Elaine S. Amendola
Zevpes, NEEDLE & Cooper, P.C.
333 State Street, P.O. Box 1740
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06601
Attorneys for petitioner.
April 18, 1977
APPENDIX
INDEX TO APPENDIX
A—Search Warrant and Affida vit la
B—Findings of Superior Court for Fairfield County
Concerning Rulings Made Prior to and During
, ̃ 222... ̃ ̃ ſ— 8a
C—Portions of Request to Charge... cece eee 14a
D—Portions of the Charge to the Jury (Saden, J.)...... 15a
E— Exceptions to the Charge 27a
F—Opinion and Judgment of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, Reversing and Remanding to the
,s ̃ ——pp pc ————— 28a
G—Joint Memorandum of Decision of Judge Levine of
ß / 43a
H—Opinion and Judgment of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, Affirming the Judgment of the Su-
SED IID ——————————————ð5 51a
I—Motion for Neargu nent 71a
J— Denial of Motion to Reargue by Supreme Court
JJ ?—ͤ—2—ů⁵— 76a
K — Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Involved 77a
APPENDIX A
Search Warrant and Affidavit
SEARCH WARRANT
AND AFFIDAVIT
TO: A Judge of the Circuit Court
The undersigned, being duly sworn, complains on oath
that the undersigned has probable cause to believe that
certain property, to wit:
(1) Precious pure nickel cathodes in pallet form stamped
with initials INCO. (2) Copper inserts, square with round-
ed corners, ranging in wgt. from 2,500 to 4,000 lbs. (3)
Braided Cable Chain with Bull Ring and L Hooks for
lifting inserts. (4) Heavy Link Chain with an Oval Bull
Ring. (5) Gray Tarpin Canvas, approx. 6’ x 12’, rope pulls
on both ends. (6) Hanna Nickel described as small ingot
form, rectangular in shape, approximately four to five
inches thick, five to six inches wide and thirty inches long
with weight of approximately fifty pounds each.
is possessed, controlled, designed or intended for use as
a means of committing the crime of . . . Larceny in viola-
tion of Section 53-63, Conn. General Statutes.
was stolen or embezzled from . . Carpenter Technology
Corporation, Steel Division-Bridgeport, a Specialty Steel
Manufacturer, where with other metals, nickel in pure form
and copper is used.
And is within or upon a certain person, place, or thing,
to wit . . The property and buildings under the custody
and care of Fairfield Scrap Iron & Metal, 158 State Street
Extension, Fairfield, Connecticut.
And that the facts establishing the grounds for issuing a
Search and Seizure Warrant are the following
(1) At approximately 1:40 A.M., July 14, 1971, as a re-
2a
sult of a stakeout surveillance at Carpenter Technology
Corporation, a Specialty Steel Manufacturing Company,
located at 837 Seaview Avenue, Bridgeport, Connecticut,
City of Bridgeport Police Officers, along with Company
Security Personnel, of the Sanitas Security Guard Service,
and Robert J. Magee, Director-Industrial Relations, appre-
hended and arrested the following two men who were
caught stealing and transporting with a truck approxi-
mately 3,000 Ibs. of stolen pure nickel cathodes having a
value of approximately $4,000.
(2) In the continuous investigation of an established, con-
firmed loss of copper inserts, precious pure nickel cathodes
in pallet form by Detective Robert J. Cafferty of the Detec-
tive Division of the City of Bridgeport Police, in a loss
value in excess of $99,830, the following two people were
re-arrested again in the theft of twelve pallets of this
precious pure nickel having a value of approximately
$60,000.
(3) That I, Robert J. Cafferty, a Detective and Member
of the City of Bridgeport Police Department, have in my
possession executed affidavits from the following two per-
sons who relate to me, under oath, that in the night season
in a surreptitious manner they stole, transported with a
truck precious pure nickel and inserts and sold
them to the Fairfield Scrap Iron & Metal, delivered them to
their property at 158 State Street Extension, Fairfield, Con-
necticut.
(4) That under oath, Russell J. Scofield, 34 years, 1171
North Avenue, Stratford, Connecticut and Albert A. Ed-
wards, 37 years, of Northrop Road, Bethany, Connecticut,
related to me in an Agreement with Peter Carbone these
stolen items were accepted and received by him in the early
3a
hours of the morning where he aided them by personally
using a towmotor in the yard of this business to unload and
conceal these metals, in deliveries as follows: In the month
of January, 1971, they personally delivered two to three
copper inserts, specific date of this transaction unknown;
on January 24th, 1971, delivered five copper inserts and
two sets of chains were left belonging to the company. On
February 11, 1971, they delivered one pallet of nickel
cathodes and three pallets of Hanna nickel. On February
20, 1971, they delivered twelve pallets of pure nickel
cathodes. Further, that in the delivery and receiving of
these metals after the thefts of them, Peter Carbone was
at the Fairfield Scrap Iron & Metal Company to personally
receive each and every load.
(5) Further, that also left on the delivery of these metals
was a gray tarpan canvas stolen from the Carpenter Tech-
nology Corporation, roughly 6’ x 12’ long with rope pulls
on each end that had six panels of canvas sewed together.
(6) Further, that on February 11, 1971 three pallets of
Hanna Nickel described as small ingot form, rectangular
in shape, approximately four to five inches thick, five to
six inches wide and thirty inches long, with the weight
of approximately fifty pounds each, was stolen. Hanna
Nickel is approximately fifty percent pure nickel. The
three pallets of Hanna Nickel stolen and delivered to Fair-
field Scrap Iron & Metal totalled 12,000 pounds in weight.
(7) That based on the training and experience of the
below named Affiant, I Robert J. Cafferty, a Police Officer
currently in my 2lst year, feel that there is reasonable
grounds and probable cause for the issuance of a Search
and Seizure Warrant to seize and secure in evidence the
within named stolen items reported to be on the current
4a
custody and care of the premises of Fairfield Scrap Iron &
Metal.
The undersigned has not presented this application in
any other court or to any other judge.
Wherefore the undersigned prays that a warrant may
issuc commanding a proper officer to search said person
or to enter into or upon said place or thing, search the
same, and take into custody all such property.
Signed at Bridgeport, Connecticut,
this 2nd day of September, 1971
s/Detective Robert Cafferty
Signed at Bridgeport, Connecticut,
this 2nd day of September, 1971
: . s/Robert J. Magee
JURAT Subscribed and sworn to before me this
2nd day of September, 1971
2 s/Sicilian, J.
5a
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
CIRCUIT COURT
The foregoing Affidavit and Application for Search and
Seizure Warrant having been presented to and been con-
sidered by the undersigned, a Judge of the Circuit Court,
the undersigned (a) is satisfied therefrom that grounds exist
for said Application, and (b) finds that said Affidavit estab-
lishes grounds and probable cause for the undersigned to
issue this Search and Seizure Warrant, such probable cause
being the following: From said Affidavit, the undersigned
finds that there is probable cause for the undersigned to
believe that the property described in the foregoing Aff-
davit and Application is within or upon the person, if any,
named or described in the foregoing Affidavit and Applica-
tion, or the place or thing, if any, described in the fore-
going Affidavit and Application, under the conditions and
circumstances set forth in the foregoing Affidavit and Ap-
plication, and that, therefore, a Search and Seizure War-
rant should issue for said property, namely the Fairfield
Scrap Iron & Metal Company located at 158 State Street
Extension, Fairfield, Connecticut, for said property.
(1) Precious pure nickel cathodes in pallet form stamped
with initials INCO.
(2) Copper Inserts, square with rounded corners, ranging
in weight from 2,500 to 4,000 pounds.
(3) Braided Cable Chain with Bull Ring and L Hooks
for lifting inserts.
(4) Heavy Link Chain with an Oval Bull Ring.
(5) Gray Tarpan Canvas, approximately 6’ x 12’, rope
pulls at both ends.
(6) Hanna Nickel described as small ingot form, rectang-
6a
ular in shape, approximately four to five inches thick, five
to six inches wide and thirty inches long with weight of
approximately fifty pounds each.
NOW THEREFORE, by authority of the State of Con-
necticut, I hereby command any Police Officer of a regu-
larly organized police department or any State Policeman
to whom these presents shall come within a reasonable time
after the date of this warrant to enter into or upon and
search the place or thing described in the foregoing Afh-
davit and Application, to wit: The buildings and property
under the custody and care of Fairfield Scrap Iron & Metal,
158 State Street Extension, Fairfield, Connecticut.
Search the person described in the foregoing Affidavit
and Application, to wit: for the property described in the
foregoing Affidavit and Application, to wit: (1) Precious
pure nickel cathodes in pallet form stamped with initials
INCO. (2) Copper inserts, square with rounded corners,
ranging in weight from 2,500 to 4,000 Ibs. (3) Braided
Cable Chain with Bull Ring and L Hooks for lifting in-
serts. (4) Heavy Link Chain with an Oval Bull Ring. (5)
Gray Tarpan Canvas, approximately 6’ x 12’, rope pulls at
both ends. (6) Hanna Nickel described as small ingot form,
rectangular in shape, approximately four to five inches
thick, five to six inches wide and thirty inches long with
weight of approximately fifty pounds each and upon find-
ing said property to seize the same, take and keep it in
custody until the further order of the court, and with
reasonable promptness make due return of this warrant
accompanied by a written inventory of all property seized.
Signed at Bridgeport, Connecticut,
this 2nd day of September, 1971
s/Sicilian. ].
Ta
RETURN FOR AND INVENTORY
PROPERTY SEIZED ON SEARCH
AND SEIZURE WARRANT
County of Fairfield, City of Bridgeport. Date of Seizure,
September 2, 1971, State of Connecticut.
Then and there by virtue of and pursuant to the author-
ity of the foregoing warrant, I searched the person, place,
or thing named therein to wit: The property and buildings
under the custoday and care of Fairfield Scrap and Iron
Metals located at 158 State Street Ext., Fairfield and found
thereon or therein, seized, and now hold in custody, the
following property . None of the within named property.
9-2-71
Detective Robert J. Cafferty, Bpt. P.D.
Sgt. Edward Targowski, Fairfield Police
8a
APPENDIX B
Findings of Superior Court for Fairfield County
Concerning Rulings Made Prior to and During
the Trial (Saden, J.)
983. The original informations against each of the de-
fendants, dated October 5, 1971, charged a single count of
violation of Section 53-63a, Connecticut General Statutes,
charging larceny of the personal property of Carpenter
Technology Corporation, Inc. in excess of Two Thousand
($2,000.00) Dollars. Motions for Bills of Particulars were
filed by both defendants subsequent to the filing of the
initial informations. However, the information in each
case was superseded by a substituted information, in each
case dated March 3, 1972, which charged each of the defen-
dants with four separate counts of larceny in excess of
Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars, in violation of Section
53-63a of the Connecticut General Statutes. Each defen-
dant, in identical Motions for a Bill of Particulars, asked,
in Paragraph number 8 of said motions, “whether the state
claims the defendant is a principal thief or receiver of
stolen goods”. In each case, the State objected to Para-
graph 8 of the Motion for Bill of Particulars. In its Memo-
randum of Decision dated April 14, 1972, the court Saden,
J, denied the defense requests of the State to specify
whether the defendant was charged as the principal thief,
a receiver of stolen goods, or an accessory, relying on an
earlier ruling by the court, Tierney, J., to a similar effect
when a similar motion had been addressed to the first set of
informations against the defendants, and also indicating
that the court felt the State was entitled to proceed in
accordance with the court’s reading of State vs. Palkimas,
153 Conn. 555, 563.
Sa
989. Prior to the institution of trial, both defendants
filed identical Motions to Suppress Evidence, and to return
property. Both motions were heard, in a pre-trial evidenti-
ary hearing before Levine, J. At that time, Judge Levine
ruled that a search of premises known as Fairfield Scrap
Iron & Metal Company in Fairfield, Connecticut, on Sep-
tember 2, 1971, was in all respects legal, and overruled the
motions by both defendants to suppress evidence. During
the trial of the case, State’s Exhibit O was marked for
identification, and an issue arose concerning the procedure
to be followed at the time State’s Exhibit O, a slip signed
with the name “John Parks” which had been taken from
Fairfield Scrap on September 2, 1971, was offered as a full
exhibit. Both defendants indicated to the court, at the trial,
that Judge Levine had held an earlier evidentiary hearing
concerning the admissibility of State’s Exhibit O for identi-
fication. Both defendants renewed their objection to the
admissibility of State’s Exhibit O, in the absence of the
jury.
The court ruled that it would not conduct another hearing
on the issue of admissibility based upon the Motions to
Suppress Evidence. The court indicated it was accepting
the decision by Judge Levine as controlling in the case.
The court indicated that both defendants had made their
proper objection, at trial, on the question of admissibility
on Fourth Amendment grounds, and the court overruled
those objections.
The defendants excepted to that ruling, and to the admis-
sibility and admission of State’s Exhibit O.
992. Albert Edwards and Russell Scofield were the prin-
cipal witnesses against the defendants, having testified on
direct examination that they had spoken to the defendant
Peter Carbone before making any thefts from Carpenter
10a
Technology, and that they had made arrangements, prior
to all of said thefts, for the defendants to purchase goods
which they were stealing. On the cross-examination of the
witness Albert Edwards, at a time when the jury was not
in the court room, counsel for the defendant Peter Car-
bone made an offer of proof to the court.
It was indicated that defendants offered to show that, in
connection with a civil action which had been brought by
Carpenter Technology against the defendants Peter and
James Carbone, and the witnesses Albert Edwards and
Russell Scofield, that depositions had been noticed of Ed-
wards and Scofield.
It was the position of the defendants that the assertion
of the Fifth Amendment privilege on behalf of Edwards
and Scofield in the civil action, at a time long after they
had given full, complete and voluntary statements to the
police which were extremely incriminating, showed not a
fear that either of them would actually incriminate them-
selves, but only an unwillingness to give any information
to the defendants or their attorneys, and thereby establish
an inference that Scofield and Edwards were biased against
defendants. In each instance, a voir dire was held outside
the hearing of the jury. It was brought out that Edwards
had given a full statement to the police on August 4, 1971.
He had given another signed statement on September 1,
1971. It was at this time that he wanted to cooperate
fully with the authorities, and tell them everything he had
done. His attorney was present with him at the time he
gave his September Ist, statement to the police. Edwards
knew that, as of early morning on July 14th he was caught
cold stealing about $3,000,000 worth of nickel, and that
he was dead on that charge.
lla
Edwards stated he asserted the Fifth Amendment privi-
lege upon the advice of his attorney. He stated he did not
know, at that time, whether or not he intended to testify
for the State. Edwards knew, at the time he gave the
statements to the police in August and September of 1971
that he was giving them material that was incriminating
to him. He had been warned of his rights before he gave
the incriminating material. Notwithstanding his knowledge
that the statements to the police were incriminating, he gave
them nevertheless. He had felt that it was better to just
come clean with it and put himself in the hands of the au-
thorities and make a clean breast of it. His position had
consistently been, since August of 1971 that he would tell
the police and the court as much as they wanted to know
on his part, and make a clean breast of it.
Concerning proposed cross-examination of the witness
Scofield on the same topic, an offer of proof was made that
on August 3, 1971, Scofield had given a full statement to
Detective Cafferty of the Bridgeport Police. No one had
threatened him or promised him any reward for giving
this statement, and the statement was voluntary and of
his own free will. The statement was given only after
consultation with his attorney, and that his attorney had
advised him to cooperate with the police. Later, on Sep-
tember 3, 1971, Scofield gave another statement to the po-
lice and signed handwriting exemplars. He had his rights
explained to him and nonetheless wished to give another
statement. On September 27, 1971, he gave a third signed
statement. Subsequent to giving the statements, he did
not contest any bind over to the Superior Court and waived
a hearing. He pleaded guilty to two charges in early Feb-
ruary, 1972. At all times it was his intention to plead
guilty, cooperate with the police, and testify against the
12a
defendants. At a time after he had already pleaded guilty,
and when it was his intention to cooperate with the police,
he was called in by subpoena to testify at a deposition pro-
ceeding in the civil case. At that time, relying upon the
Fifth Amendment privilege, he refused to answer any and
all questions put to him. Scofield claimed that he refused
to answer on the advice of counsel.
It was the defendants’ position that, in both cases, any
alleged reliance on the Fifth Amendment privilege was
spurious and a sham. It was defendants position that any
assertion of a privilege was bad faith, and showed the
bias and prejudice of each of the witnesses, Scofield and
Edwards, against the defendants. It was defendants’ posi-
tion that, based upon what had gone before, both Scofield
and Edwards had waived any privilege against self-incrimi-
nation, and that, under the circumstances, at least an argu-
able inference from the assertion of the privilege was that
it showed bias and prejudice against the defendants, and
therefore was relevant to the jury in assessing the credi-
bility of Edwards and Scofield. In each instance, the court
sustained the objections of the State.
In each instance both defendants excepted to the court’s
rulings.
995. At the end of the State’s evidence, the defendants
filed a Motion to Dismiss the information, alleging that
each count of each information was defective as duplici-
tious, in that they charged two separate crimes within
each count of each information. Oral argument was had
on the motions at which time the defendants contention
was that in allowing the state to charge defendants with,
in effect, committing both the crime of larceny itself, and
also the crime of receiving stolen goods, all within a single
13a
count or criminal charge, was duplicitious, and fatally
defective. The court denied the motions, and both defen-
dants excepted.
996. At the end of the State’s case, both defendants filed
Motions to Elect, whereby they moved that the court order
the state to elect whether or not to proceed, on each count,
on a theory of guilt based on whether the defendants were
allegedly a principal, or accessory to the thefts themselves,
or a theory of guilt based upon the Receiving Statute, 53-65,
Conn. Gen. Stats. Argument was had, along with the Mo-
tions to Dismiss, wherein the defendants claimed that, as
charged, if the defendants were subject to both theories of
possible criminal liability, within a single count of the in-
formation, the counts were each duplicitious, and fatally
defective. The court heard oral argument, and denied the
motions. The defendants excepted.
14
APPENDIX C
Portions of Request to Charge
836. Defendant requests that the court charge, concern-
ing the above defendant, on either the theory that said
defendant is charged as a principal thief under Section
53-63a as supplemented by the general accessory provisions
of Section §54-196—or as a receiver of stolen goods under
Section 53-65—but that the court not put both theories to
the jury.
15a
APPENDIX D
Portions of the Charge to the Jury (Saden, J.)
905. Now, larceny is charged, as I have repeated, in each
of these four offenses against each defendant. Included
within the charge of larceny is another offense under Sec-
tion 53-65, which does not appear on the face of this in-
formation but is nevertheless just as much before you as
though it were. And Section 53-65 is the section known
as the receiving and concealing stolen goods, knowing them
to be stolen, or for a short name, receiving stolen goods.
906. In this case, if the State has proved its case under
the rules laid down in this charge on the law, you may find
the defendants—and I speak of each defendant when I say
defendants—you may find the defendant guilty of either
the offense of larceny or the offense of receiving and con-
cealing stolen goods, but not of both offenses as to any
one count.
907. Now, Sections 53-63(a) is the larceny statute, and
it provides that any person who steals any goods of a cer-
tain value commits the crime of larceny in violation of that
statute. .
908. Now, a larceny is a theft. And a theft is defined as
the taking and carrying away of money or personal prop-
erty having some value from an out of the possession of
the owner with the intent to defraud or deprive him of it,
and to appropriate it to the use of the taker without excuse
or color of right.
16a
909. The first element embraced in the definition is the
taking and carrying away of personal property of another.
We are not concerned here with money, obviously.
910. The second element is the existence of a felonious
intent in the taker to deprive the owner of money or the
personal property permanently.
911. The third element is the lack of consent of the owner
of the property to the taking. The phrase “felonious in-
tent” as applied to larceny or theft simply means that the
taker has no color of right or excuse to perpetuate the act
of taking. Possession does not necessarily require that the
owner actually have the personal property in his hand or
in his person or in his pocket. It is in his possession if it
is at the time subject to his control.
912. So far as this crime is concerned, ownership in-
cludes the possession of the property which a person is
entitled to have for the time being.
913. Finally, you will remember I said to you that the
taking must be without color or excuse. That is to say,
the defendant must have taken the property with a wrong-
ful intent. If for example, he actually and honestly believes
under the circumstances of a given case that the money or
property was his own, no matter if he was mistaken, he
would not be guilty of a wrongful intent.
914. You will recall that the information states the value
of the personal property stolen. In the crime of theft or
larceny, it is necessary to prove the value of the property
taken. If you find that the defendant was guilty of the
crime of theft, and that the amount or value of the prop-
17a
erty stolen was as alleged in the information, when you
return to the courtroom and you are asked Whether you
find the defendant guilty as charged as to each éount, you
will answer guilty. But if you find he stole the property
but the value was not as stated in the information, your
verdict then would be guilty of theft of property of the
value of whatever value you find that value to be. And,
of course, if you find that he stolé property of no value,
then, of course, he would not be guilty of the crime of
larceny. :
915. Now, what a man’s purpose or intention or knowl-
edge has been is necessarily very largely a matter of in-
ference. In this case, the only way in which a Jury can
determine what a man’s purpose, intention or knowledge
was at any given time is by determining what that man’s
conduct was and what the circumstances were surround-
ing that conduct, and from those“circumstances and all
those facts infer what his purpose, intentign or knowledge
was. To draw such an inference is not only the priyilege
but also the duty of a jury, provided, of course, the infer-
ence drawn is a reasonable inference.
916. In this case it will be part of your duty to draw
all the reasonable inferences from the conduct of the de-
fendant in light of the surrounding circumstances as to
what purpose, intent or knowledge was in the mind of
each defendant at the various times in question.
917. Now, in connection with the charge of larceny in |
each of these informations, there is another statute relat-
ing to accessories to a crime which comes into play and
does not appear on the face of these informations but is
18a
nevertheless a statute that you must consider in reaching
your determination of guilt or innocence on each count.
This is Section 54-196 of the General Statutes, which reads
as follows:
918. “Any person who assists, abets, counsels, causes,
hires or commands another to commit any offense may be
prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal of-
fender.”
919. Now, in this case, I do not think there is any evi-
dence upon which the State could base a claim that these
defendants caused or hired or commanded Scofield or Ed-
wards to commit the larceny so that, you can dismiss from
your minds those three words. But that still leaves the
words “Any person who assists, abets or counsels another
to commit an offense may be prosecuted as a principal.”
920. The State does not claim in this case that the defen-
dants personally engaged in moving metal off of the own-
er’s premises, but it does claim that Edwards and Scofield
did, and that the defendant is chargeable as a principal
offender under the statute I have just read to you, because
the defendant in each case was an accessory under the
statute. If the defendant did any one of these things speci-
fied in the accessory statute as I have just explained it to
you, leaving out the three words “causes, hires or com-
mands,” he is in the eyes of the law just as guilty of the
crime charged as though he had directly committed it or
directly participated in its commission.
921. I want to particularly emphasize to you that the
statute does not connect the various things its specifies by
the word “and,” but instead it separates them by the word
19a
“or.” It reads: “Assists, abets or counsels.” The defen-
dant is guilty of the crime charged if he assisted in any
way in its commission, or if he abetted it or if he coun-
seled it. The words of the statute are clear, except per-
haps the word “abet,” spelled a-b-e-t. And here the word
means, did he encourage or incite the commission of this
crime. To find the defendant guilty, you must however,
decide that he did more than just passively acquiesce in
it or innocently perform certain acts which in fact did aid
in the commission of the offense. Unless there was a crimi-
nality of intent and an unlawful purpose in common with
the actual perpetration of the crime, he is not guilty under
the statute. If you find beyond a reasonable doubt that
he did any of these things specified in the accessory statute
with that criminal and common intent, he is just as much
guilty of the crime of larceny as though he had himself
committed it, and your verdict would be that he is guilty
of larceny. If you do not find that to be so beyond a rea-
sonable doubt, then he is entitled to an acquittal.
922. Every one is a party to an offense who actually
commits the offense or does some act which forms part of
the offense or directly or indirectly counsels any person
to commit the offense or do any act forming a part thereof.
So much for the accessory statute.
We come now to the statute relating to receiving stolen
goods. And I will use that short title to refer to that whole
statute. You will recall that I mentioned the statute on
larceny permits proof of the offense of receiving stolen
goods. And I will now read to you the language of Sec-
tion 53-65 of the General Statutes, which describes this
offense. It reads as follows:
20a
923. “Any person who receives and conceals any stolen
goods or articles knowing them to be stolen shall be prose-
cuted and punished as a principal, although the person
who committed the theft is not convicted thereof.”
924. What this states, as you can see, is that a receiver
and concealer of stolen goods who knows they are stolen
shall be punished as though he actually stole the goods him-
self in the first place, even though the person who in reality
committed the theft is not yet convicted of the offense.
925. The elements of the crime of receiving stolen goods
are as follows:
1. The personal property must have been stolen;
and ;
2. It must have been received by the defendant
with the knowledge that it was stolen; and
3. It must have been concealed; and
4. It must have been received and concealed with-
out color of right or excuse.
Of course, the State must prove all of these elements
beyond a reasonable doubt before the defendant can be
found guilty.
926. As to the first element, the property must have been
stolen. Stealing is the taking away of property from one
who owns or possesses it with the intent of depriving him
of it and converting to the takers own use without color of
right or excuse. As far as the offense of receiving stolen
goods is concerned, it does not matter who stole the prop-
erty or through how many hands it passed. All you need
to determine is that the property was stolen property.
Zla
927. Second, the stolen property must have been re-
ceived by the defendant with knowledge that it was stolen.
To receive means to take into one’s actual possession.
928. The State has offered direct evidence that the de-
fendant, when he received this property in each case, if
you find that he did receive it, knew that it was stolen.
The State has also offered circumstantial evidence, includ-
ing the conduct of each defendant when he received it and
immediately thereafter, from which you are asked to infer
that knowledge which claims you can and should do if you
decide from such evidence that the only reasonable con-
clusion to be drawn is that the defendant did know that
the property had been stolen. Thus the State claims and
has offered evidence, direct and circumstantial, to prove
actual knowledge on the defendant’s part that the prop-
erty was stolen. And if this evidence satisfies you beyond
a reasonable doubt, then you must find actual knowledge
did exist.
929. Third, you must be satisfied that, having received
the goods, knowing them to have been stolen, the defen-
dant concealed them. Now, conceal as used in this statute
has a broader meaning than that in which one ordinarily
might use the word, which is to hide. It, of course, in-
cludes hiding, but the requirement of concealment is met
if the defendant did anything which would make the dis-
covery or identification of the property more difficult.
930. As I have said, the word “conceal” is not to be
limited to the literal and technical construction of the word
“hiding.” It can include the handling of property in a
manner which would throw the owner off guard in his
22a
searching for it. It can include any conduct which will
assist the defendant in converting the property to his own
use and enjoyment, or which may hinder or prevent its
discovery by an owner, such as, for example, quickly dis-
posing of it, covering it in whole or in part, placing it
in any place where it is not likely to be seen, removing
any identification from the property. Hence you can un-
derstand that conceal as used in this statute includes a very
broad scope of conduct with reference to the stolen prop-
erty.
931. Finally, the State must prove that the defendant
acted without color of right or excuse. By this, I mean
that he must have acted with criminal intent. Here again,
the State has offered evidence, both direct and circum-
stantial, bearing on the question of the defendants’ intent
in each case. If you are satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt
that the defendants’ conduct established a criminal intent
on his part, the State has proved this element of the
charge. Intent is criminal if its object is to aid the thief
in any manner, whoever the thief may be. And it is crimi-
nal if it wrongfully seeks to deprive the true owner per-
manently of the property in question.
932. As in the case of larceny, you must also consider
the value of the property claimed to have been received
as stolen goods. If you find the defendant guilty of this
offense, when you return to the courtroom and you are
asked whether or not you find the defendant guilty of the
offense of receiving and concealing stolen goods knowing
them to be stolen, you will state that you do find the de-
fendant guilty of receiving stolen goods of the value of
whatever value you may find that to be if it is less than
23a
the amount stated in the information. If it is the same
amount as stated in the information, then you may simply
say so. And if there is no value proved to your satisfac-
tion under the law, you will render a verdict of acquittal.
933. Now, value as already indicated must be proved
under the offense of receiving stolen goods just as it does
under the larceny charge. The expressions “actual value,”
“fair market value” or “market price,” whether applied
to any article, means essentially the same thing. They
mean the price or the value of the article usually estab-
lished or shown by sales, public or private, in the way of
ordinary business. In this case, we are concerned with
the market value of the various items alleged in the State’s
information as having been stolen. Such value is a mat-
ter of opinion, and there is no rule of law that any par-
ticular method must be folowed to prove it.
934. We are, of course, concerned here with the value of
these items in terms of what a consumer such as Carpenter
Technology or any other consumer on the same level of ac-
tivity, of commercial activity, would be likely to pay for
such materials on the market. And their value would be
the price such a consumer would pay for each item on the
open market in the ordinary course of business during
the period of January and February of 1971.
935. One other thing on value. The State is not obliged
to prove the exact value of the property stolen as alleged
in the information. It is sufficient to prove a value in
excess of two thousand dollars, whatever that amount of
excess may be. If you find that the value is in excess of
two thousand dollars, that is as far as you need to go as to
value as to each count. If you find as to any count the value
24a
is less than two thousand dollars, then you will report
whatever lesser value you may find when you return your
verdict. And, of course, if you find there is no value, you
would have to acquit as to such count on which you so find.
936. Now, in this case, there is no evidence that at the
time of the defendants’ arrest, which occurred some six
months after January or February, 1971, there is no
evidence that either at the time of the arrest or thereafter
that there was any stolen goods in either defendants pos-
session. Ther< is, of course, evidence before you for your
consideration showing that certain articles of metal goods
were in defendants’ possession at or about the time alleged
in the four counts of the information, and that they were
stolen goods. And you must evaluate this evidence with all
of the other evidence in the case.
0
937. Now, the questions which you must decide are as
follows:
1. Is the defendant—and I refer to each defendant
separately—guilty of larceny as to one or more or all
of the counts in each case; or
2. Is the defendant guilty or receiving stolen goods
knowing them to be stolen as to one or more or all of
the counts in each case; or
3. Is the defendant not guilty of any offense as to
one or more or all of the counts in each case.
938. First, when I speak of the larceny counts, you must
keep in mind not merely the receiving stolen goods count,
you must keep in mind the aecessory statute. The accessory
statute affixes itself to the larceny count. The receiving
stolen goods charges, which are not alleged in the informa-
25a
tion but are nevertheless before you, do not become in-
volved with the accessory statute at all, and you can forget
the accessory statute as far as receiving stolen goods is
concerned. As I have previously mentioned to you, you
cannot find the defendant as to any one count guilty of
both larceny and of receiving stolen goods. As to each
count, it must be either one or the other or not guilty.
939. Now, neither defendant was ever present on the
Carpenter Technology premises. That is conceded by the
State. Nevertheless, the State does claim under the acces-
sory statute, which I explained to you before, that the
defendant assisted or abetted or counseled Edwards and
Scofield to commit the offense of larceny, and for this
reason the defendant is punishable as a principal offender
under the larceny statute as permitted by the accessory
statute. As to each count in the information, it is for you
to determine upon all of the evidence, both direct and
circumstantial, offered by either side whether or not the
defendant in question assisted or abetted or counseled
Edwards and Scofield prior to the time each theft occurred
by any words or act, such as advising them as to what
kinds of metals to steal, or in any other manner that you
may recall from the evidence. If you find from all of
the evidence that either or both defendants as to each
count did conduct himself with reference to that count in
the manner of an accessory, as already defined for you,
then you must find such -defendant or defendants guilty
of larceny as to that count. And the same is true of every
count in each information.
940. Of course, I remind you again that you should
consider each defendant separately and each count under
each information should be considered separately. If you
find as to any counts the defendant did not conduct himseif
26a
as an accessory before the offense, then as to that count
that defendant would be not guilty of larceny, and you
must then consider whether the defendant was guilty of
receiving stolen goods rather than larceny, as I defined
previously the offense of receiving stolen goods for you.
941. Because a defendant is charged with larceny, while
he may not be guilty of larceny, he may nevertheless be
found guilty of receiving stolen goods, provided the State
has met its burden of proof under the receiving statute as
I have explained it. If under the circumstances you find
the defendant guilty of receiving stolen goods as to one
or more or all counts, when called upon by the Clerk in
open Court to report your verdict as to each count, you
will say as to such count not guilty of larceny, but guilty
of receiving stolen goods of a value of whatever value you
will place upon the property. And, of course, if you find
the defendant as to each count is not guilty of larceny, and
that he is not guilty of receiving stolen goods as to such
count, you will return a verdict of not guilty as to both
charges as to such count.
27a
APPENDIX E
Exceptions to the Charge
979. The only other thing,—I think it is covered in my
motion—I do want to except to your Honor’s charging—
without arguing—charging on both receiving under 54-196.
The Court: We have been over this, Mr. Grudberg.
Mr. Grudberg: I just want to make sure.
980. The Court: I don’t want you to repeat yourself. It
is on the record. We have been over it at least twice and
more. Let’s not go over it any more. You have covered
it all on the record. You are going to have to raise the
question on the appeal if you ever go up on appeal. There
is no need to keep repeating yourself.
28a
APPENDIX F
Opinion and Judgment of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, Reversing and Remanding to
the Superior Court
2
SUPREME COURT
NoveMBER TERM, 1974
State or Connecticut v. PETER CARBONE
SrarE or ConNECTICUT v. JAMES CARBONE
<>
Substituted informations charging each defendant with
four counts of the crime of larceny, brought in the Su-
perior Court in Fairfield County; motions by the defen-
dants to suppress denied by the court, Levine, J.; trial in
each case to the jury before Saden, J.; verdict and judg-
ment in each case of guilty on all counts and appeal by
the defendants. Error in part; further proceedings.
Ira B. Grudberg, for the appellant (defendant) in the
first case.
Raymond W. Beckwith, with whom, on the brief, was
George N. Thim, for the appellant (defendant) in the
second case.
Joseph T. Gormley, Jr., chief state’s attorney, with
whom, on the brief, were Donald A. Browne, state’s at-
torney, and Richard F. Jacobson, assistant state’s attor-
ney, for the appellee (state) in both cases.
29a
MacDonatp, J. Each of the defendants was tried upon
a substituted information charging him with four counts
of larceny of personal property in excess of two thousand
dollars. The jury returned a verdict of “guilty as charged”
on each count as to both defendants. The defendants each
appealed and the appeals were combined by stipulation
of counsel. Prior to trial of the issues, the defendants filed
several similar motions and supplemental motions to sup-
press a receipt bearing the name “John Parks” which
had been obtained from the premises of Fairfield Scrap
Iron and Metal Company, hereinafter Fairfield Scrap, lo-
cated in Fairfield. A hearing was conducted on these mo-
tions and they were denied. In their assignments of errors
the defendants have raised a multitude of issues con-
cerning both the denial of the motions to suppress and
the conduct of the trial, but our ruling with regard to the
motions to suppress obviates the necessity of discussing
the issues raised with regard to the trial.
The finding with respect to the motions discloses the
following facts: In July of 1971, Detective Robert J. Caf-
ferty of the Bridgeport police department became involved
in an investigation of thefts of precious metals from the
Carpenter Technology Corporation, hereinafter Carpenter,
in Bridgeport. On September 2, 1971, Cafferty and Robert
J. Magee, an employee of Carpenter, applied for and ob-
tained a search and seizure warrant for the premises of
Fairfield Scrap. The warrant commanded a search for a
variety of named precious metals, and other items em-
ployed in the theft of those metals. Prior to making ap-
plication for the warrant, Cafferty had been informed by
Albert Edwards and Russell Scofield, the men admittedly
directly responsible for the thefts, that the name “John
Parks” had been used on one of the receipt slips signed at
30a
Fairfield Scrap where they claimed to have delivered the
stolen items. Through an oversight, Cafferty failed to
seek the inclusion of the “John Parks” receipt or, indeed,
of any slips or receipts involving Scofield, Edwards or
“John Parks,” in the list of items authorized to be seized.
The warrant was executed on September 2, 1971. With
Cafferty and Magee at the time of the execution of the
warrant were Henry Popowski, an employee of Carpenter,
who was present in order to identify items that might be
found belonging to Carpenter, and Alfred Constantino, a
special investigator for Federal Insurance Company of
New York, who was aiding and assisting Detective Caf-
ferty in the investigation and was present during the
search in connection with Carpenter’s claim with regard
to the loss of the metal. Patrolman John Sleeper, a photo
technician of the Bridgeport police department, Detective
Stephen Zadrovitz and Sergeant Edward Targowski of the
Fairfield police department, and Special Agent Edward
Buffum of the F.B.I. also assisted Cafferty in the search.
None of the law enforcement officers was in uniform.
Magee, Popowski, Constantino and Patrolman Sleeper
accompanied Detective Cafferty, in his police car, to Fair-
field Scrap, and there was a general conversation en route
about whether they might find anything with Edwards’
name or Scofield’s name on the Fairfield Scrap premises.
Cafferty told the others not to search for anything, but that
if they happened to see anything with those names on it,
to let him know. He also mentioned that there might be
paper work or slips. There also was a discussion concern-
ing “John Parks,” or slips possibly bearing that name.
Cafferty instructed the others that they were not allowed
to search for slips with the name “John Parks” because
such items were not named in the warrant. He told them
31
that if they ran into the names Scofield, Edwards or “John
Parks” it could be meaningful, and he admonished them to
“keep their eyes open” for those names and to tell him if
they saw those names at all. Popowski understood
Cafferty’s advice to mean that if he saw the names Scofield,
Edwards or “John Parks” on a piece of paper, he should
say something, but that it was not intended that he actually
go and look for them. No indication was given to Popowski
that the name “John Parks” might be found on a receipt of
Fairfield Scrap.
Fairfield Scrap is a sole proprietorship owned by James
Carbone, and Peter and Frank Carbone are the sons of
James and employees of Fairfield Scrap. The Carbones are
hereinafter individually referred to as James, Peter and
Frank and collectively as the Carbones. Upon arrival at
Fairfield Scrap, Sergeant Targowski sought out Peter and
informed him that they were present with a search warrant,
and read to him from the warrant the items for which they
were searching. Peter threw up his hands and said: “Go
ahead and look.” He and Targowski then accompanied
Cafferty inside the main building where Cafferty began
looking through closets for items named in the warrant.
James arrived a few minutes later. Targowski had the
warrant in his hand at this time and showed it to James
but he could not be sure if he read any portions of it to
James. James asked Targowski some questions, but Tar-
gowski referred him to Cafferty, since Cafferty was familiar
with the warrant. James never took the warrant and read
it. Targowski then returned the warrant to Cafferty, who
went upstairs to the rear office and gave Peter and James
the Miranda warnings. Cafferty advised Peter that he was
present legally for a search and seizure, and Peter did not
at that time ask Cafferty to read the warrant in its entirety.
32a
Along with the police officers, the civilians who had
arrived with them went around the premises assisting the
officers, since they were familiar with the items being
sought. The men searched the premises and the building.
At various times during the search, Cafferty was accompa-
nied by the civilians, Popowski and Magee, Patrolman
Sleeper, Sergeant Targowski and Detective Zadrovitz.
Nothing was found on the premises that was listed in the
warrant.
At some time after Cafferty arrived, Constantino asked
him whether he could look at the sales receipts, paper slips
or sales slips of Fairfield Scrap. Cafferty told Constantino
that he could do so only if he obtained the voluntary per-
mission of the Carbones. In Cafferty’s presence, Constan-
tino asked Frank if he could look at the sales receipts and
slips. Cafferty said nothing, although he knew that a pos-
sible result of Constantino’s question would be that Con-
stantino would look through the slips and that if he found
anything with the names Scofield, Edwards or “John Parks”
on it, he would show it to Cafferty. In reply to Constan-
tino’s request, Frank asked James, and James replied:
„Well, I see no reason why he shouldn't see them. Fine, let
him have them.” Frank indicated to Constantino that he
could see the business slips, and James then asked Frank:
“Where do we keep them?” Frank produced the slips and
Cafferty then left the area. Popowski and Constantino
looked through the records although neither man had asked
the Carbones whether Popowski could inspect these items.
Neither man had informed the Carbones who he was or why
he was present. Neither man had sought the permission of
the Carbones to be on the premises. Constantino considered
himself validly there under the terms of the warrant and
at the invitation of the police. In viewing the slips, Con-
33a
stantino and Popowski were looking for the names Scofield,
Edwards and “John Parks.”
Popowski came across a slip signed by “John Parks”
and then went outside and told one of the police officers.
Cafferty was advised of the discovery and returned to the
scale room. When he arrived back no police officers were
present. Cafferty asked Frank in James’ presence if he
could have the slip or a copy of it. Frank agreed, but said
that he would have to have a copy of it for the business.
Cafferty took the original and one photostatic copy and
left a photostatic copy with the Carbones. The slip was
discovered approximately an hour or an hour-and-a-half
after the search was begun. After the slip was discovered,
Constantino did not ask the Carbones whether he could
show the slip to the police. The Carbones were not asked
to sign a consent to search form nor were they advised that
the seizure of the slip was beyond the scope of the warrant.
Cafferty never discussed the presence of the civilians with
the Carbones nor did he seek their permission to have Con-
stantino on the premises. Targowski saw Constantino and
Popowski going through the slips and did not ask what they
were doing, although he was aware that there was no
authority under the warrant to search for or through said
items.
Constantino was a New York detective for eighteen years
prior to joining Federal Insurance Company of New York.
Cafferty had arranged to invite Constantino so that he
could aid and assist the police, if he observed or noted any-
thing, and as another person to look around, although Con-
stantino had no police powers. Popowski was asked by
Constantino to help him look through some records. He
handed Popowski a pile of slips and asked him to look
through them for the names Scofield, Edwards or “John
34a
Parks.” Peter was not in the room when the slip was dis-
covered, but accompanied Targowski to make the photo-
static copies upstairs.
The “John Parks” receipt was admitted at the trial of
Peter and James. The record discloses that the state’s
case in the main part hinged upon the credibility of the
witnesses Scofield and Edwards, and the “John Parks” slip
appears to have been a determinant in the jury’s considera-
tion of their credibility. Thus, if illegally seized, its admis-
sion was highly prejudicial to the defendants.
In its memorandum on the defendants’ motions to sup-
press, the court ruled that Peter had no standing to contest
the seizure, that a determination of the validity of the
search warrant was unnecessary since the court found that
the seizure was grounded upon consent, that the consent was
voluntary, and that the seizure was not subject to challenge
under the fourth amendment to the United States constitu-
tion or § 7 of article first of the Connecticut constitution,
since it was effected by private citizens.
On the question of the standing of Peter the court ruled:
“The evidence discloses that Peter had no interest in the
premises searched, or the slips voluntarily turned over to
Constantino and Popowski, since the premises and its con-
tents were owned solely by James Carbone. He is therefore
not a person aggrieved by the search which took place
here.”
The protection of the fourth amendment extends to com-
mercial premises. Mancusi v. DeForte, 392 U.S. 364, 367,
88 S. Ct. 2120, 20 L. Ed. 2d 1154; See v. City of Seattle, 387,
U.S. 541, 87 S. Ct. 1737, 18 L. Ed. 2d 943. Furthermore, the
fourth amendment does not shield only those who have title
to the searched premises. Mancusi v. DeForte, supra, 368.
One with a possessory interest in the premises might also
35a
have a standing. Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80
S. Ct. 725, 4 L. Ed. 2d 697. Further, anyone legitimately on
the premises where a search occurs may challenge its legal-
ity when its fruits are proposed to be used against him.
Jones v. United States, supra, 267. See State v. Castle, 161
Conn. 570, 572, 287 A.2d 744: State v. Oliver, 160 Conn. 85,
92, 273 A.2d 867, cert. denied, 402 U.S. 946, 91 S. Ct. 1037,
29 L. Ed. 2d 115. The United States Supreme Court has
steadfastly recognized the principle that fourth amendment
rights are personal rights which may not be asserted
vicariously. Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 89
S. Ct. 961, 22 L. Ed. 2d 176; Simmons v. United States, 390
U.S. 377, 88 S. Ct. 967, 19 L. Ed. 2d 1247; Jones v. United
States, supra. However, in Brown v. United States, 411
U.S. 223, 228, 93 S. Ct. 1565, 36 L. Ed. 2d 208, its most
recent pronouncement on the issue of standing, the court
clearly reaffirmed the principle that presence on the
premises at the time of the search and seizure is sufficient
to confer standing, and summarized its holding (p. 229) as
follows: “In deciding this case, therefore, it is sufficient to
hold that there is no standing to contest a search and
seizure where, as here, the defendants: (a) were not on the
premises at the time of the contested search and seizure;
(b) alleged no proprietary or possessory interest in the
premises; and (c) were not charged with an offense that
includes, as an essential element of the offense charged,
possession of the seized evidence at the time of the contested
search and seizure. The vice of allowing the Government
to allege possession as part of the crime charged, and yet
deny that there was possession sufficient for standing pur-
poses, is not present.”
Peter had been present on the premises during the entire
search. Although the record does not indicate that he was
in the scale room at the time of the discovery of the “John
\
36a
Parks” slip, he did accompany Targowski to photostat the
slip. The premises of Fairfield Scrap is comprised of an
outside storage area, a main building, and several shacks.
The warrant authorized a search of this entire area. The
finding discloses Peter’s presence in the main building at
several points prior to and after the seizure and this is
sufficient to bring him within the purview of Jones and
Brown. The court instead, ruled that the search was not
directed at Peter, and that since James was the sole pro-
prietor of Fairfield Scrap, Peter did not have a sufficient
possessory interest under Jones to have standing. We can-
not agree with either ruling. When Sergeant Targowski
entered the premises he sought out Peter and read him the
warrant. Detective Cafferty advised Peter and James of
their constitutional rights. In paragraph four of the affi-
davit of Detective Cafferty and Robert Magee submitted in
support of their application for the search warrant, which
affidavit is printed in full in an appendix to Peter’s brief,
and which was made part of the finding, reference is made
to the sworn statements of Scofield and Edwards, in which
they state that the stolen items were received and accepted
by Peter. The investigation certainly had focused upon
Peter at this time, and the fact that the Warrant com-
manded a search of the premises and did not expressly
name Peter in its command is no indication that the search
was not directed at him. The warrant sought the seizure of
items concerning which the state was to contend, at the trial,
that Peter had sufficient control over their appropriation to
be held as a principal in their theft.
The Supreme Court in Jones (p. 266) declined to impose
upon the law of search and seizure “distinctions . . . only
of gossamer strength” between the principles of private
property law such as “invitee,” “licensee,” “guest” and
37a
“lessee,” but conferred standing on those legitimately pres-
ent on the premises where a search occurs, stating (p. 267):
“No just interest of the Government in the effective and
rigorous enforcement of the criminal law will be hampered
by recognizing that anyone legitimately on premises where
a search may challenge its legality by way of a motion to
suppress, when its fruits are proposed to be used against
him. This would of course not avail those who, by virtue
of their wrongful presence, cannot invoke the privacy of
the premises searched. As petitioner’s testimony estab-
lished . . . consent to his presence . . he was entitled to
have the merits of his motion to suppress adjudicated.”
Thus, the denial of sufficient possessory interest in the
premises in Peter, based on a finding that James was sole
proprietor of the company, is far too strict and creates a
standard in contravention of Jones and Brown. James had
standing to contest the search warrant.
The denial of standing to Peter, in and of itself, does not
necessitate a vacation of the conviction if the issues that he
sought to raise are sufficiently presented in the record to
allow this court to rule upon them. Jones v. United States,
362 U.S. 257, 272, 80 S. Ct. 725, 4 L. Ed. 2d 697. However,
preliminary to its ruling on the question of consent, the
court declined to entertain the defendants’ challenge of
the validity of the search warrant. In State v. Memoli, 159
Conn. 433, 436, 270 A.2d 543, this court reiterated the
standards by which the voluntariness of a claimed consent
is to be judged: “Not every search made without a warrant
is unlawful. A search which is made with the full consent
of the defendant may be lawful provided the state affirma-
tively establishes the consent is voluntary. State v. Miller,
152 Conn. 343, 347, 206 A.2d 835. The question is one of fact
to be decided by the court upon the evidence and such rea-
38a
sonable inferences as can be drawn from it. State v. Hanna,
150 Conn. 457, 471, 191 A.2d 1°4. All of the surrounding
circumstances are pertinent to the question of voluntari-
ness. State v. Hassett, 155 Conn. 225, 230, 230 A.2d 553.”
See also Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S. Ct.
2041, 36 L. Ed. 2d 854. .
The illegality of a warrant under the authority of which
entry is gained is a factor to be considered on the question
of voluntariness. Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S. 543,
549, 88 S. Ct. 1788, 20 L. Ed. 2d 797; Earls v. State,
Tenn. , 496 S.W.2d 464. The state has the burden of
proving that consent is not tainted by reason of the primary
illegality. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, supra; Wong Sun v.
United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S. Ct. 407, 9 L. Ed. 2d 441.
The primary attack upon the search warrant involved here
is that the information contained in the affidavit, relating
to probable cause to believe that the items sought are upon
the premises, is stale. Peter has printed the search warrant
application in an appendix to his brief and, as an exhibit
at the hearing, it was made part of the finding without
having to be printed, and thus may be considered. Para-
graph one of the application indicates that Seofield and
Edwards were not apprehended until July 14, 1971. Para-
graph four of the affidavit reveals that Scofield and Ed-
wards made deliveries of certain precious metals, stolen
from Carpenter, to Peter on the premises at Fairfield
Serap, on four dates: January 24, 1971, another unknown
date in January, 1971, February 11, 1971, and February 20,
1971. In paragraph seven Detective Cafferty, one of the
affiants, states that the items sought are “reported to be on
[sic] the current custody and care of the premises of
Fairfield Scrap Iron & Metal.” No indication is given of the
source of this report or of its reliability.
—
39a
“The recital [of the underlying circumstances in the affi-
davit] must be of facts so closely related to the time of the
issuance of the warrant as to justify a finding of probable
cause at that time.” State v. DeNegris, 153 Conn. 5, 8-9, 212
A.2d 894, citing Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S. 206, 210,
53 S. Ct. 138, 77 L. Ed. 260. “The facts and circumstances
set forth in an affidavit submitted in support of the issuance
of a search warrant should be current and timely, so as to
indicate that the premises, person, place or thing to be
searched PRESENTLY contains the fruits of the crime.
... Markle, The Law of Arrest and Search and Seizure,”
p. 223. An exception to this rule is where the court finds
facts indicating the likelihood that there is a continuing
criminal activity. United States v. Mustone, 469 F.2d 970
(Ist Cir.) ; United States v. Johnson, 461 F.2d 285 (10th
Cir.); State v. Austria, Haw. , 524 P.2d 290;
Johnson v. State, 14 Md. App. 721, 288 A.2d 622; note, 100
A.L.R.2d 525, 542; Markle, supra, 226.
The facts indicating this continuity must satisfy the same
requisites of reliability as other facts within the affidavit
that purport to evidence probable cause. An affidavit that
merely states the affiant’s belief that there is cause to search
without stating facts upon which that belief is based does
not establish probable cause. Nathanson v. United States,
290 U.S. 41, 54 S. Ct. 11, 78 L. Ed. 159. Thus the unsup-
ported observation by Detective Cafferty that the items are
“reported to be on [sic] the current custody and care of the
premises” is insufficient to establish eontinuity, nd, thus,
we are unable to find that there is a substantial basis for the
issuing judge’s conclusion that probable cause presently
existed. State v. DeNegris, supra. A lapse of just over six
months occurred between the latest noted delivery to Fair-
field Serap and the issuance of the warrant. By their testi-
“Oa
mony at the trial Scofield and Edwards indicated that the
Carbones did not intend to keep the stolen items on their
premises very long. In fact, with regard to the Hanna
nickel named in the command of the warrant, the Carbones
indicated it was worthless and they would have to bury it.
There clearly was merit to the claim that the warrant was
stale and the court erred in failing to consider this circum-
stance in determining the issue of consent.
The court next concluded that the search and seizure of
the “John Parks” slip was conducted by private citizens and
was thus not within the purview of the fourth and four-
teenth amendments. Despite this conclusion, the court went
on to rule that there was a voluntary consent to this seizure,
a ruling the necessity for which would appear to have been
obviated by its conclusion presently under consideration.
Neither the state nor counsel for Peter has briefed this
issue although the consent issue was briefed extensively by
all parties. If, in fact, this had been a seizure by a private
citizen not acting in concert with or as an agent of the
police, nor assisting them at their direction, its validity
would not have hinged upon the authority of the warrant
nor upon the validity of any purported consent. It simply
would have been outside the purview of the protections of
the constitution; and, although it may have been obtained
as a result of a trespass actionable in the civil courts, its
use in criminal prosecutions could not have been challenged.
For the reason, seizures of this nature must be scrutinized
carefully, for it is only the autonomous private seizure,
free from police institgation and concert, that is expected
from the proscriptions of the fourth amendment.
The rule of admissibility of the fruits of private seizures
stems from Burdeau v. McDowell, 256 U.S. 465, 474-76, 41
S. Ct. 574, 65 L. Ed. 1048 and it’s the rule in most jurisdic-
4la
tions that the exclusion will apply to evidence obtained by
a private citizen only where the police through suggestion,
order or request, made the private person their agent for
purposes of criminal investigation. See Corngo v. United
States, 367 F. 2d 1 (9th Cir.) ; Moody v. United States, 163
A.2d 337 (D.C. App.); Machlo v. State, 248 Ind. 218, 295
N.E.2d 762; Thacker v. Commonwealth, 310 Ky. 702, 221
S.W.2d 682; State v. Scrotsky, 39 N.J. 410, 189 A.2d 23;
note, A.L.R.3d 553, 590. Courts must, therefore, be con-
cerned with the actuality of the share by the government
agent in the total enterprise of securing and selecting evi-
dence by other than sanctioned means. Note, 36 A.L.R.3d
553, 590, and authorities cited therein.
The portions of the finding relevant to this question indi-
cate that Constantino and Popowski were present at the
invitation of the police and under the authority of the war-
rant. They were instructed not to search but to disclose
anything bearing the name Edwards, Scofield or “John
Parks.” They were further instructed that in order to
examine items not named in the warrant they would have
to seek permission from the Carbones. It was never indi-
cated to the Carbones that they were not police officers.
Their express purpose ir accompanying the police was to
assist the officers in identifying items named in the warrant,
and they accompanied the officers in searching various por-
tions of the premises. Upon discovering the “John Parks”
slip they immediately sought out Detective Cafferty, who
then negotiated with the Carbones for the original and a
copy of the slip. These men at all times were assisting and
acting at the instigation of the executing officers. They were
present at the invitation of the police and the manner and
scope of their explorations were dictated by the police. It
was an enterprise of mutual assistance, and the actions of
42a
Popowski and Constantino, thus, must come within the
countenance of the fourth amendment.
The following language from the United States Supreme
Court’s most recent annunciation on the issue of consensual
searches is pertinent to the ultimate determination whether,
upon all the circumstances, the consent herein can be
deemed to have been voluntarily given: “(t]he Fourth and
Fourteenth Amendments require that a consent not be
coerced, by explicit or implicit means, by implied threat or
covert force. For, no matter how subtly the coercion were
applied, the resulting ‘consent’ would be no more than a
pretext for the unjustified police intrusion against which
the Fourth Amendment is directed.” Schneckloth v. Busta-
monte, 412 U.S. 218, 228, 93 S. Ct. 2041, 36 L. Ed. 2d 854.
In summary, it was error for the court to deny the de-
fendants’ motions to suppress without considering all of
the circumstances surrounding the purported consent to
search, including any question as to the invalidity of the
search warrant itself. “[I]f under all the circumstances it
has appeared that the consent was not given voluntarily—
that it was coerced by threats or force, or granted only in
submission to a claim of lawful authority—then we have
found the consent invalid and the search unreasonable.”
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, supra, 233. Since it is obvious
from the record that this error was prejudicial to the de-
fendants, it is not necessary to consider the assignments of
error directed to the trial.
There is error, the judgement is set aside in each case
and the cases are remanded to be proceeded with in accord-
ance with this opinion.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
43a
APPENDIX G
Joint Memorandum of Decision of Judge Levine
of August 1, 1975
These matters have been remanded to this court to be
proceeded with in accordance with the Supreme Court's
opinion: State v. Carbone, Conn. (36 Conn. L.J., No. 37,
pg. 5, 10). The remand is for the purpose of having this
court determine whether the search warrant was “stale”
and, therefore, invalid and its effect on the respective de-
fendants’ motions to suppress which the court had previ-
ously denied. “In summary, it was error for the court to
deny the defendants’ motions to suppress without consider-
ing all of the circumstances surrounding the purported
consent to search, including any question as to the invalidity
of the search warrant itself. [If under all the circum-
stances it has appeared that the consent was not given
voluntarily—that it was coerced by threats or force, or
granted only in submission to a claim of lawful authority—
then we have found the consent invalid and the search
unreasonable.’ Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, supra [412 U.S.
218, 228, 93 S. Ct. 2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854], 233.” State v.
Carbone, supra, p. 10.
The investigation of thefts from the Carpenter Steel
Company began in July of 1971 and continued into the
month of September, 1971. The search warrant for the
premises of Fairfield Scrap was issued on September 2,
1° 1. The affidavit attached to the search warrant set forth
that there had been several thefts of metals and apparatus
for moving the metals during the months of January and
February and that in July the “thieves” were apprehended
in the act in a subsequent theft from the Steel Company and
44a
it related that on the occasions of the takings in January
and February, the metals were delivered to the defendants.
The items to be searched for included in the warrant were:
“a. Precious nickel cathoes in pallet form stamped with
the initials INCO.
b. Copper inserts, square with rounded corner, ranging
in weight from 2,500 to 4,000 Ibs.
e. Braided cable chain with bull ring and L hooks for
lifting inserts.
d. Heavy link chain with oval bull ring.
e. Gray Tarpaulin canvas, approximately 6’ x 12’, rope
pulls at both ends.
f. Hanna Nickel described as small ingot form rectan-
gular in shape, approximately four to five inches
thick, five to six inches wide, thirty inches long, with
weight of approximately fifty pounds each.”
At issue is the suppression of a receipt-slip bearing the
name “Parks” found on the premises and which was not
one of the items described in the search warrant. The affi-
davit accompanying the search warrant stated factually
that two employees of the Steel Company caught in the act
of larceny on July 14, 1974, admitted in early August to
taking metals and the apparatus for handling of those
metals, which would include the braided cable chain with
bull ring (c), the heavy link chain (d), and the gray tar-
paulin (e), three of the named six items. The other items,
(a), (b), and (f), were the stolen metals taken in January
and February. The act of larceny in July put the Steel
Company on notice that the earlier larcenies had been
committed and it was at that point that the investigation
45a
began, resulting in the September 2, 1974 search warrant
and search. The warrant was issued about thirty days after
the police secured the information from the “two thieves”
that these metals and other items were sold to the defen-
dants and as a result of which, the investigation was begun
and continued up to September 2, 1974.
The general rule is to the effect that the facts in an
affidavit for a search warrant should provide the basis for a
finding of probable cause that named items are on the
premises at the time of the intended search.. . . it is mani-
fest that the proof must be of facts so closely related to the
time of the issue of the warrant as to justify a finding of
probable cause at that time. Whether the proof meets this
test must be determined by the circumstances of each case.”
Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S. 206, 210-11. “The recital
must be of facts so closely related to the time of the issuance
of the warrant as to justify a finding of probable cause at
that time.” State v. DeNegris, 153 Conn. 5, 8-9. Three of
the items included in the search warrant, the braided cable
chain (e), the heavy link chain (d), and the gray tarpaulin
(e), are used in the handling and moving of metals and
are not ordinarily bought and sold as marketable items in
the defendant’s business. Since they make handling of
metals easier and more efficient, there is every reason to
believe that they would be kept on the premises where they
could be made use of. The first knowledge of their pres-
ence on the defendant’s premises was when the larcenists
made their statements in early August and Sergeant Caf-
ferty’s statement that there was cause to believe that these
three items were there had a reasonable basis. At the hear-
ing on the motions to suppress, this court had no testimony
from the defendants or Scofield or Edwards as to what the
defendants intended to do with the items, testimony which
46a
came out on the subsequent trial and which the Supreme
Court considered in reaching its decision, and no finding
was made to that effect by this court. As to the other three
items, nickel cathoes (a), copper inserts (b), and Hanna
nickel (f), the possibility existed that they were still on the
premises, since, as in every business, their sale depended on
the market price of those items and the desire of the owners
to sell at the current price or to wait for a higher one. The
rule is that in each case the observations stated in the affi-
davit must support a reasonable belief that the material in
question is on the premises. Schoeneman vs. United States,
317 F.2d 173. See Annotation 100 A.L.R. 2d 525, 534. “The
question of the staleness of probable cause depends more
on the nature of the unlawful activity alleged in the affi-
davit than the dates and times specified therein.” United
States v. Harris, 482 F.2d 1115, 1119 (1973). The nature
of the property to be seized is important. United States v.
Johnson, 461 F.2d 285. State v. Kasold, 110 Ariz. 563. State
v. Tella, 321 A.2d 87. Also important is the mobility of the
property. State v. Hoffman, 516 P.2d 84. Here three of the
items, the three used for handling metal, were of such a
nature that use of them could be made on the premises and
would lead to a conclusion that they would have remained
there inasmuch as it would be natural to keep them where
there was constant need for them. The affidavit sets forth
a continuous course of criminal conduct in which the lar-
cenists stole the materials and sold them to the defendants
during the months of January and February and further
establishes a larceny in July when the perpetrators were
caught in the act, which, of course, prevented delivery of
the materials. Such a continuous course of action lessens
the importance of the time lapse. United States v. Johnson,
supra. The facts stated in the affidavit of September 2,
47a
1974, provided the basis for a belief that the three items
used for handling metals, (c), (d), and (e), were currently
on the premises and the basis for belief of the reasonable
probability that the metals were also there.
The remaining issue requiring the decision of the court
is on the question of the voluntariness of the consent to
search for the receipt-slip. “Not every search made without
a warrant is unlawful. A search which is made with the full
consent of the defendant may be lawful provided the state
affirmatively establishes that the consent is voluntary.”
State v. Memoli, 159 Conn. 433, 436. State v. Miller, 152
Conn. 343, 347. . The question is one of fact to be
decided by the court upon the evidence and such reasonable
inferences as can be drawn from it. State v. Hanna, 150
Conn. 457, 471, 191 A.2d 124. All of the surrounding cir-
cumstances are pertinent to the question of voluntariness.
State v. Hassett, 155 Conn. 255, 230, 230 A.2d 553.’ See
also Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 93 S.Ct.
2041, 36 L.Ed.2d 854.” State v. Carbone, supra, 8. Where
a search is conducted without a warrant the burden is on
those seeking exemption from the requirements of a war-
rant to demonstrate justification for it. United States v.
Jeffers, 342 U.S. 48, 51. Consent to a search, regarded as a
waiver of constitutional protection, must be voluntary and
affirmatively established by the State. State v. Miller,
supra, 347. See Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458, 464; United
States v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218; United States ex rel. Hollo-
way v. Reincke, 229 F.Supp. 132, 137. Where consent is
established, the product of the search is admissible in evi-
dence and the burden of establishing the voluntariness of
that consent is on the State, Pekar v. United States, 315
F.2d 319; United States v. Smith, 308 F.2d 657; State v.
Hanna, supra. See State v. Collins, 150 Conn. 488; United
48a
States v. Thompson, 356 F.2d 216.“ [The Fourth and Four-
teenth Amendments require that a consent not be coerced,
by explicit or implicit means, by implied threat or covert
force. For, no matter how subtly the coercion were applied,
the resulting ‘consent’ would be no more than a pretext for
the unjustified police intrusion against which the Fourth
Amendment is directed.” Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, supra,
228. When the officer arrived on the Carbone premises,
Sergeant Targowski displayed the warrant to the defendant
Peter Carbone, advised him of his purpose for being on the
premises, and allowed him to read the warrant. The items
described in the warrant were never found; however, some
time after the searchers arrived one of them, Constantino,
a special insurance investigator, asked Sergeant Cafferty if
he could look at the sales receipts, paper slips, or sales slips
of the company. He was told by Cafferty that he could do
so only if he obtained the voluntary permission of the
defendants, Carbones. With Cafferty present, Constantino
asked Frank Carbone, a son of the defendant James Car-
bone, who was also present, and an employee of the com-
pany, if he could look at the sales receipts and slips. In
reply to that request, Frank asked the defendant James,
who replied, “Well I see no reason why he shouldn’t see
them. Fine let him have them.” Frank told Constantino
that he could see them and the defendant James asked
Frank, “Where do we keep them?” Frank produced the
slips; Cafferty left the office area; and Constantino, helped
by Popowski, an employee of the Steel Company, went
through the slips and found one with the name “Parks” on
it. That slip was turned over to Cafferty who asked Frank,
in the presence of the defendant James, if he could have the
slip or a copy of it. Frank agreed, without objection from
the defendant James, and Targowski accompanied by the
49a
defendant Peter, went upstairs and prepared two photo-
static copies of the receipt. Cafferty gave a receipt for the
slip, which was signed by Frank and the defendant James,
and took with him the original and one photostat. The
members of the search party knew that receipts, slips, and
papers were not included in the search warrant and that
consent was needed to search for them. The conversation
between the Carbones and Constantino indicates that per-
mission was sought and voluntarily given. The defendant
James, the sole proprietor of the company, by his expres-
sion that there was no reason to keep the slips from Con-
stantino, indicated his willingness and again indicated his
willingness by asking where they were kept so that their
production would be aided. To go further, when Cafferty
asked for the slip or photostats of it, he indicated his vol-
untariness through sitting in the presence of Frank, who
agreed, and by allowing the defendant Peter to assist in
the making of the photostats and by signing the Cafferty
receipt. By his expressions and his actions, he indicated
the voluntariness of his consent, as did his son Frank and
defendant-brother Peter, his employees.
It is clear from a reading of Schneckloth that knowledge
of the right to refuse to allow the search is not determina-
tive of the voluntariness of the consent but is one factor to
be considered with all the circumstances or that it is invol-
untary unless it could have been given in the absence of
official inquiry (search warrant). In considering some of
the relative factors set forth in that case, all the Carbones
were adults, who were operating a business, who had been
advised of their constitutional rights by the officers, and who
gave their consent within a short period of time after the
subject of the slips was first raised. See United States ex
rel. Combs v. LaVallee, 417 F.2d 523 (2d Cir.); United
50a
States v. DeMarco, 488 F.2d 828, 830 (2d Cir.); United
States v. Alloway, 397 F. 2d 105, 108 (6th Cir.) ; Hoover v.
Beto, 467 F.2d 516 (5th Cir.). Bumper v. North Carolina,
391 U.S. 543, upon which the defendants rely, is distinguish-
able on the facts. In that case the person giving the permis-
sion was an elderly widow; here each defendant and the
son Frank were adult businessmen. Of importance is the
rule that employees, such as Frank and the defendant
Péter, who possess common authority over premises or
effects, may give consent for a person who shares the same
authority. United States v. Matlock, 415 U.S. 164, 170.
“Consent to a search is effective when given by one whose
right to occupancy or possession is at least equal to that of
the person contesting the search.” United States v. Gargiso,
456 F. 2d 584, 586. United States v. Grigsby, 367 F.Supp.
900, 902; Frazier v. Cupp, 394 U.S. 731. The actions of
Frank and Peter, relatives and employees, bound the
defendant James and the actions of the defendant James
bound the defendant Peter. Under all the circumstances,
the consent for the search for the slip was not expressly
or impliedly compelled or coerced by the search warrant,
the search, or the search party’s presence on the premises;
consent was freely and voluntarily given.
The motions to suppress and for the return of the slip
should be denied.
Irving Levine, J.
5la
APPENDIX H
Opinion and Judgment of the Supreme Court of
Connecticut, Affirming the Judgment of
the Superior Court
SUPREME COURT
Ocroszr Trax, 1976
Substitution Opinionꝰ
State or Commsoncur v. Peter CaRBone
State or Connecticut v. James Carpone
= C. J., Loiselle, Bogdanski, Longo and MacDonald,
8.
— * October 19, 1976—decision released January 18,
Separate informations charging each defendant with four
counts of the crime of larceny, brought to the Superior
Court in Fairfield County, motions to suppress denied,
Levine, J., and jury trial before Saden, J.; verdicts and
judgments of guilty on all counts and appeal by the defen-
dants to the Supreme Court, which set aside the judgments
and remanded the cases for further proceedings in accord-
ance with its opinion; on remand, the Superior Court,
Levine, J., denied the motions to suppress; Tierney, J.,
upon motion by the state, ordered the judgment in each
case reinstated, from which decision the defendants again
appealed to the Supreme Court, which granted a joint mo-
tion of the parties for reargument. No error.
»The opinion appearing in today’s Law Journal is a substitute
for the opinion in State v. Carbone which appeared in the Law
Journal of March 11, 1975.
52a
Ira B. Grudberg, with whom was Mari-Jo Scopac, for
the appellant (defendant Peter Carbone).
Raymond W. Beckwith, for the appellant (defendant
James Carbone).
Joseph T. Gormley, Jr., chief state’s attorney, with whom
was Robert E. Beach, Jr., assistant state’s attorney, for the
appellee (state).
LolskLLx, J. Prior appeals in these cases were decided
by this court in the November term of 1974.“ The opinion
does not appear in the Connecticut Reports. So that our
recital of various facts from the finding shall not be inter-
preted as being, in any respect, different from those facts
considered in the prior decision, the entire discussion rela-
tive to the finding of facts in the prior decision is included
in the footnote.?
136 Conn. L. J., No. 37, p. 5.
* The finding with respect to the motions discloses the following
facts: In July of 1971, Detective Robert J. Cafferty of the Bridge-
port police department became involved in an investigation of
thefts of precious metals from the Carpenter Technology Corpora-
tion, hereinafter Carpenter, in Bridgeport. On September 2.
1971, Cafferty and Robert J. Magee, an employee of Carpenter,
applied for and obtained a search and seizure warrant for the prem-
ises of Fairfield Scrap. The warrant commanded a search for a
variety of named precious metals, and other items employed in
the theft of those metals. Prior to making application for the
warrant, Cafferty had been informed by Albert Edwards and
Russel] Scofield, the men admittedly directly responsible for the
thefts, that the name “John Parks” had been used on one of the
receipt slips signed at Fairfield Scrap where they claimed to have
delivered the stolen items. Through an oversight, Cafferty failed
to seek the inclusion of the “John Parks” receipt or, indeed, of
any slips or receipts involving Scofield, Edwards or “John Parks”
in the list of items authorized to be seized.
The warrant was executed on September 2, 1971. With Cafferty
and Magee at the time of the execution of the warrant were
Popowski, an employee of Carpenter, who was present in order to
identify items that might be found belonging to Carpenter, and
Alfred Constantino, a special investigator for Federal Insurance
53a
Many of the details recited in that opinion will not be
repeated here. Briefly, the defendants, James Carbone and
Company of New York, who was aiding and assisting Detective
Cafferty in the investigation and was present during the search in
connection with Carpenter’s claim with regard to the loss of the
metal. Patrolman John Sleeper, a photo technician of the Bridge-
port police department, Detective Stephen Zadrovitz and Sergeant
Edward Targowski of the Fairfield police department, and Special
Agent Edward Buffum of the F.B.I. also assisted Cafferty in the
search. None of the law enforcement officers was in uniform.
Magee, Popowski, Constantino and Patrolman Sleeper accom-
panied Detective Cafferty, in his police car, to Fairfield Scrap, and
there was a general conversation en route about whether they might
find anything with Edwards’ name or Scofield’s name on the Fair-
field Scrap premises. Cafferty told the others not to search for
anything, but that if they happened to see anything with those
names on it, to let him know. He also mentioned that there might
be paper work or slips. There also was a discussion concerning
“John Parks,” or slips possibly bearing that name. Cafferty in-
structed the others that they were not allowed to search for slips
with the name “John Parks” because such items were not named
in the warrant. He told them that if they ran into the names
Scofield, Edwards or “John Parks” it could be meaningful, and he
admonished them to “keep their eyes open” for those names and
to tell him if they saw those names at all. Popowski understood
Cafferty’s advice to mean that if he saw the names Scofield,
Edwards or “John Parks” on a piece of paper, he should say
something, but that it was not intended that he actually go and
look for them. No indication was given to Popowski that the name
“John Parks” might be found on a receipt of Fairfield Scrap.
Fairfield Scrap is a sole proprietorship owned by James Carbone,
and Peter and Carbone are the sons of James and employees
of Fairfield Scrap. The Carbones are hereafter individually
referred to as James, Peter and Frank and collectively as the Car-
bones. Upon arrival at Fairfield Scrap, Sergeant Targowski sought
out Peter and informed him that they were present with a search
warrant, and read to him from the warrant the items for which they
were searching. Peter threw up his hands and said: “Go ahead
and look.” He and Targowski then accompanied Cafferty inside the
main building where Cafferty began looking through closets for
items named in the warrant. James arrived a few minutes later.
Targowski had the warrant in his hand at this time and showed it
to James but he could not be sure if he read any portions of it to
James. James asked Targowski some questions, but Targowski
referred him to Cafferty, since Cafferty was familiar with the war-
rant. James never took the warrant and read it. Targowski then
returned the warrant to Cafferty, who went upstairs to the rear
54a
Peter Carbone, were convicted after a jury trial of four
counts of larceny of personal property in excess of $2000
on four different dates between January 8, 1971, and Feb-
office and gave Peter and James the Miranda [384 U.S. 436, 86
S. Ct. 1602, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694] warnings. Cafferty advised Peter
that he was present legally for a search and seizure, and Peter did
not at that time ask Cafferty to read the warrant in its entirety.
Along with the police officers, the civilians who had arrived with
them went around the premises assisting the officers, since they were
familiar with the items being sought. The men searched the prem-
ises and the building. At various times during the search, Cafferty
was accompanied by the civilians, Popowski and Magee. Patrolman
Sleeper, Sergeant Targowski Detective Zadrovitz. Nothing was
found on the premises that was listed in the warrant.
At some time after Cafferty arrived, Constantino asked him
whether he could look at the sales receipts, paper slips or sales slips
of Fairfield Scrap. Cafferty told Constantino that he could do so
only if he obtained the voluntary permission of the Carbones. In
C s presence, Constantino asked Frank if he could look at the
sales receipts and slips. Cafferty said nothing, although he knew
that a possible result of Constantino’s question would be that Con-
stantino would look through the slips and that if he found any-
thing with the names Scofield, Edwards or “John Parks” on it, he
would show it to Cafferty. In reply to Constantino’s request, Frank
asked James, and James replied: “Well, I see no reason why he
shouldn’t see them. Fine, let him have them.” Frank indicated to
Constantino that he could see the business slips, and James then
asked Frank: “Where do we keep them?” Frank produced the
slips and Cafferty then left the area. Popowski and Constantino
looked through the records although neither man had asked the
Carbones whether Popowski could inspect these items. Neither man
had informed the Carbones who he was or why he was present.
Neither man had sought the permission of the Carbones to be on the
premises. Constantino considered himself validly there under the
terms of the warrant and at the invitation of the police. In viewing
the slips, Constantino and P i were looking for the names
Scofield, Edwards and “John Parks.”
Popowski came across a slip signed by “John Parks” and then
went outside and told one of the police officers. Cafferty was ad-
vised of the discovery and returned to the scale room. When he
arrived back no police officers were present. Cafferty asked Frank
in James’ presence if he could have the slip or a copy of it. Frank
agreed, but said that he would have to have a copy of it for the
business. Cafferty took the original and one photostatic copy and
left a photostatic copy with the Carbones. The slip was discovered
approximately an hour or an hour-and-a-half after the search was
55a
raary 20, 1971. James Carbone was the owner of Fairfield
Scrap Metal Company, hereinafter referred to as Fairfield
Scrap, in Fairfield, and Peter, his son, was an employee.
Russell Scofield and Albert Edwards, two former em-
ployees of Carpenter Technology Corporation, hereinafter
referred to as Carpenter, in Bridgeport, testified that they
had stolen copper and nickel from their employer on vari-
ous dates, transported it in rented trucks, and sold it to
the defendants at Fairfield Scrip. Scofield stated he had
signed a slip under the name of “John Parke” A slip
bearing that signature was admitted into evidence. There
was also evidence that Fairfield Seraj had sold copper and
nickel to a New York scrap dealer on two occasions near
the dates of thefts from Carpenter.
Before the trial, motions to suppress the slip were
denied.“ The slip had been seized while a search was being
begun. After the slip was discovered, Constantino did not ask the
Carbones whether he could show the slip to the police. The Carbones
were not asked to sign a consent to search form nor were they ad-
vised that the seizure of the slip was beyond the scope of the war-
rant. Cafferty never discussed the presence of the civilians with the
Carbones nor did he seek their permission to have Constantino on
the premises. Targowski saw Constantino and Popowski going
through the slips and did not ask what they were doing, although
he was aware that there was no authority under the warrant to
search for or through said items. ;
Constantino was a New York detective for eighteen years prior
to joining Federal Insurance Company of New York. Cafferty had
arranged to invite Constantino so that he could aid and assist the
lice, if he observed or noted anything, and as another person to
look around, although Constantino had no police powers. Popowski
was asked by Constantino to help him look through some records.
He handed Popowski a pile of slips and asked him to look through
them for the names Seoheld, Edwards or “John Parks.” Peter was
not in the room when the slip was discovered, but accompanied
Targowski to make the photostatic copies upstairs.
Certain corrections in the finding of the court which decided the
motions to suppress were made in the statement of facts in the
opinion on the former appeal of this case. The other corrections
sought are immaterial or involve requests to add facts which are
merely cumulative.
56a
conducted on the premises of Fairfield Scrap by the police,
acting under a warrant. It was not one of the items listed
on the warrant. Alfred Constantino, an insurance investi-
gator who accompanied the police, had inquired of Detective
Robert J. Cafferty, who was in charge of the search party,
whether he could search for sales slips. Constantino was
told that he could not search under the warrant as the sales
slips were not listed but was told that he could if he obtained
consent. He thereafter asked Frank Carbone, another son
of James and also an employee of Fairfield Scrap, whether
he might look at sales slips. Frank relayed the request to
James who replied, “Well, I see no reason why he shouldn’t
see them. Fine, let him have them.” Frank got the slips
and brought them out and placed them on a desk in the
presence of James. Peter Popowski, an employee of Car-
penter who also accompanied the police on this visit, joined
Constantino in looking through the slips and discovered
the “John Parks” slip. Frank, in the presence of James,
was asked if the slip or a copy of it could be taken. Frank
agreed and two photostatic copies were made. A receipt
signed by Frank and James was made out.
The court ruled that the search was conducted by private
citizens, and the fourth amendment thus was not appli-
cable. This court disagreed, concluding that Popowski and
Constantino were assisting the police and “thus, must
come within the countenance of the fourth amendment.”
The lower court also concluded that James Carbone gave
his voluntary consent to the search, that Peter lacked
standing to object, and that consequently it did not need to
consider the objections relating to the validity of the war-
rant. This court determined that Peter had standing, and
that the lower court erred in failing to consider all the
circumstances surrounding the purported consent, including
any question of the validity of the warrant under which
57a
entry to the premises was gained. The judgments were
set aside and the cases remanded for further proceedings.
On remand, the court found that the warrant was valid,
the consent was voluntary, and that the consent of any of
the Carbones, all of whom had a right to be on the premises,
was effective as to the others. The judgments were rein-
stated, and the defendants have again appealed.
The defendants claim that the warrant was invalid be-
cause there was no probable cause to believe that the items
listed therein would be found, on that date, at Fairfield
Scrap. The affidavit attached to the warrant, which was
issued om September 2, 1971, stated that Scofield and
Edwards, who had been apprehended in July of 1971, had
delivered metals and appartus for moving metals (the items
listed on the warrant) to Fairfield Wcrap in January and
February of that year. Noting the time lapse, this court
stated in its prior opinion that “there was merit to the claim
ihe werrant was stale.”
Upon remand, the motions to suppress to which this
court had addressed itself were resubmitted to Irving
Levine, J., who had ruled on the motions previously. It
was agreed by all parties that a new record need not be
made amd that the facts presented in the first hearing on
the motions to suppress could provide a sufficient evi-
dentiary basis for the new conclusions. Consequently, the
finding of facts included in the record is controlling.
The motions to suppress and for the return of the slip
vere denied by the court. As there was no supplemental
record made, we look to the memorandum of decision to
determine the reasoning for the conclusion reached by the
court. In re Application of Dodd, 132 Conn. 237, 240, 43
A.2d 224. In considering the list of items enumerated in
58a
the warrant,‘ in view of the previous opinion of this court
thet as a matter of law the search was not a private search,
that Peter Carbone had standing to challenge the search,
and that the claim of staleness of the warrant had merit,
the court determined that the apparatus for handling metal
(two chains and a tarpaulin) would have been useful in the
defendants’ business and was not ordinarily bought and
sold in that business. The court concluded that the appa-
ratus probably would have remained on the premises and
the warrant was therefore not stale.
The court recognized that there must be probable cause
that the items sought are on the premises when the warrant
is issued. This principle was enunciated by the United
States Supreme Court in a statutory, rather than a con-
stitutional, context in Sgro v. United States, 287 U.S.
206, 210, 53 S. Ct. 138, 77 L. Ed. 260. The requirement,
however, is believed to be one of constitutional proportions.
See Bastida v. Henderson, 487 F.2d 860 (5th Cir.) ; United
States v. Gwinn, 454 F.2d 29 (5th Cir.) ; State v. DeNegris,
153 Conn. 5, 9, 212 A.2d 894. It is also recognized that a
time lapse between the observations on which the affidavit
is based and the issuance of the warrant is an important
consideration, but not necessarily controlling under all
circumstances. United States v. Steeves, 525 F.2d 33, 38
(8th Cir.). We previously did not find that the time lapse
alone was so great as to invalidate the warrant as a matter
*The items to be searched for included in the warrant were:
“a. Precious nickel cathoes in pallet form stamped with the ini-
tials INCO. b. Copper inserts, square with rounded corner, rang-
ing in weight from 2,500 to 4,000 Ibs. c. Braided cable chain with
bull ring and L hooks for lifting inserts. d. Heavy link chain with
oval bull ring. e. Gray Tarpaulin canvas, approximately 6’ x 12’,
rope pulls at both ends. f. Nickel described as small ingot
form rectangular in shape, approximately four to five inches thick,
five to six inches wide, thirty inches long, with weight of approxi-
mately fifty pounds each.”
59a
of law. The motions to suppress were remanded to be con-
sidered in the light of our opinion and the case not re-
manded for a new trial absent the items seized under the
warrant. If items of property are innocuous in themselves
or not particularly incriminating and are likely to remain
on the premises, that fact is an important factor to be
considered in determining the staleness of a warrant. In
United States v. Steeves, supra, it was held that a warrant
issued to search for items used in a robbery three months
earlier was stale as to the money and the bank’s money
bag, but not as to a gun, a ski mask, and clothing worn by
the robber. “The ski mask and the clothes were not in-
criminating in themselves, and apart from his prior felony
record possession of the pistol was not unlawful in itself or
particularly incriminating. Moreover, people who own
pistols generally keep them at home or on their persons.”
Id., p. 38. See also United States v. Rahn, 511 F.2d 290
(10th Cir.) (warrant to search for guns issued on informa-
tion eighteen months old not stale when affidavit showed
the defendant had said guns would appreciate in value if
kept, had been seen making personal use of one gun, and
search of records of area pawnshops revealed no sales by
the defendant). On the court’s analysis it cannot be held
that the court erred in denying the motions to suppress.
Because the warrant is found valid, it can no longer be
maintained that the slip was “the indirect product of an
unlawful search,” and thus excluded according to Wong
Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 484, 83 S. Ct. 407,
9 L. Ed. 2d 441. And because there was no “claim of lawful
authority” to search for the sales slip, this case is dis-
tinguishable from Bumper v. North Carolina, 391 U.S.
543, 549, 88 S. Ct. 1788, 20 L. Ed. 2d 797, in which a woman
“consented” to a general search after a policeman, without
showing a warrant, announced, “I have a warrant to search
60a
your house.” Here the actual warrant was read to Peter
and shown to James, and a specific separate request to
search for the sales slip was made by one who had been
informed that he could not search for the slip without
express consent.
In determining whether the consent was voluntary, all
the circumstances are to be considered. Schneckcloth v.
Bustamonte, 413 U.S. 218, 227, 93 S. Ct. 2041, 36 L. Ed. 2d
854. It is a question of fact for the court. State v. Hanna,
150 Conn. 457, 471, 191 A.2d 124. The court, having found
that Constantino was not on the premises unlawfully, con-
sidered the other circumstances surrounding the consent,
and as stated in its memorandum of decision: “The conver-
sation between the Carbones and Constantino indicates that
permission was sought and voluntarily given. The defen-
dant James... by his expression that there was no reason
to keep the slips from Constantino, indicated hs willingness
and again indicated his willingness by asking where they
were kept so that their production would be aided. To go
further, when Cafferty asked for the slip or photostats of
it, [James] indicated his voluntariness through sitting in
the presence of Frank, who agreed, and by allowing the
defendant Peter to assist in the making of the photostats
and by signing the Cafferty receipt... [A]ll the Carbones
were adults, who were operating a business, who had been
advised of their constitutional rights by the officers, and
who gave their consent within a short period of time after
the subject of the slips was first raised.”
The determination by the trial court that consent was
voluntary was reasonable considering all the evidence to-
gether with the reasonable inferences which could be drawn
from it. There is no error in the denial on remand of the
motions to suppress.
6la
The defendants also claim error in the court’s reinstate-
ment of the judgments without a new trial. The Practice
Book contains no mention of a motion to reinstate judg-
ment. A new trial would have been needed, however, only
had the motions to suppress been granted on remand.
Reinstatement of the judgments after the motions were
denied was not error. MclIsaac v. Hale, 105 Conn. 249,
250, 135 A. 37, states that a finding of error with a re-
mand to proceed according to law destroys the first judg-
ment and requires a new trial of all the issues. In this
case, however, there were two separate proceedings: the
motions to suppress, heard by the court, and the trial by
jury. The previous opinion concerned itself entirely with
the court’s denial of the motions to suppress and the re-
mand to proceed in accordance with the opinion neces-
sarily was limited to the motions to suppress as no other
matters were discussed. Where the error occurred only
in the first proceeding, and it was cured in a manner
which did not change the evidence admissible in the sec-
ond, a new trial was not required. See Jackson v. Denno,
378 U.S. 368, 394, 84 S. Ct. 1774, 12 L. Ed. 2d 908.
The defendants were entitled under the remand to a
determination of motions to suppress and if the motions
were granted, necessarily to a new trial without the ad-
missions of those items of evidence suppressed. If, as hap-
pened in this case, the motions to suppress were denied,
the most that the defendants were entitled to under the
terms of the remand was this determination and no fur-
ther action by the court other than entering judgment.
“The reversal of a judgment annuls it, but does not neces-
sarily set aside the foundation on which it rests. This
foundation may be sufficient to support a judgment of a
different kind, and may be such as to require it. A re-
62a
versal therefore is never, standing alone, and ex vi termini,
the grant of a new trial. If the error was one in drawing
a wrong legal conclusion from facts properly found and
appearing on the record, it would be an unnecessary pro-
longation of litigation to enter again on the work of as-
certaining them.” Coughlin v. McElroy, 72 Conn. 444, 446,
44 A. 743. See the cases of Fitch v. State, 138 Conn. 534,
86 A.2d 718, and Fitch v. State, 139 Conn. 456, 95 A.2d
255, wherein the court rendered judgment on the second
case after remand to correct a referee’s report with no
right in the appellant to have the issues tried again. See
also Lamenza v. Shelton, 96 Conn. 403, 413, 114 A. 96;
Nowsky v. Siedlecki, 83 Conn. 109, 118, 75 A. 135. The
defendants claim that as the previous judgment was set
aside, they had a right to a new trial with the presenta-
tion of evidence as if no prior trial had occurred. As
stated in Coughlin v. McElroy, supra, 447, [a] case can-
not be presented by halves. In every trial which may re-
sult in an appeal to this court, it is the duty of each party,
so far as he is able, to see that whatever is material to
support his contentions is proved and found. If he con-
tents himself with bringing forward only so much as he
may deem sufficient to meet those of his adversary, he
must be prepared, should an appeal be taken on either
side, to have it decided with reference to no other facts
than those apparent on the record.” In this instance, the
only matter remanded, in effect, was the propriety of the
admission of an item obtained during a search. As that
matter has been resolved in favor of the state, there is no
need for a new trial on the issues already tried to com-
pletion. |
In the court’s prior opinion, it is true that it was stated
that “our ruling with regard to the motions to suppress
63a
obviates the necessity of discussing the issues with regard
to the trial.” Had the trial court on remand granted the
motions to suppress, a new trial would have been required,
and claims of error in the first trial would have been
mooted. Because a new trial did not occur, this court
must now consider the defendants’ claims of error at the
trial.
The defendants claim that the prosecutions were abated,
prior to the bringing of the informations, by the repeal of
§ 53-63a of the General Statutes, under which they were
prosecuted. The repeal took place as part of a revision
of the entire criminal code of this state. 1969 Public Acts,
No. 828, § 214, effective October 1, 1971. Section 54-194
of the General Statutes, however, provides: “The repeal
of any statute defining or prescribing the punishment for
any crime shall not affect any pending prosecution or any
existing liability to prosecution and punishment therefor,
unless expressly provided in the repealing statute that
such repeal shall have that effect.” The defendants claim
that § 54-194 itself was implicitly repealed by the later en-
actment of § 1-1 (t), which states: “The repeal of an act
shall not affect any punishment, penalty or forfeiture in-
curred before the repeal takes effect, or any suit, or prose-
cution, or proceeding pending at the time of the repeal, for
an offense committed, or for the recovery of a penalty or
forfeiture incurred under the act repealed.”
Section 1-1 (t) is a blanket provision drawn to cover
both criminal and civil statutes. It has been described as
“broader” than § 54-194. Simborski v. Wheeler, 121 Conn.
195, 200, 183 A. 688. A mere overlap between the two
statutes does not constitute an implied repeal of the earlier.
Section 1-1 (t) preserves punishments incurred and prose-
cutions pending, but it does not state that liability to prose-
64a
cution shall not be preserved under some other statute.
Since the defendant was liable to prosecution at the date
of the repeal, § 54-194 preserves that liability. “Repeals
by implication are not favored and will never be presumed
where the old and new statute may well stand together.
Fair Haven d W. R. Co. v. New Haven, 75 Conn. 442, 447,
53 A. 960; Bissell v. Dickerson, 64 Conn. 61, 29 A. 226;
Windham County Savings Bank v. Himes, 55 Conn. 433,
12 A. 517.... Furthermore... if courts can by any
fair interpretation find a reasonable field of operation for
both statutes without destroying or perverting their evi-
dent meaning and intent, it is the duty of the courts to
do so, thus reconciling them and according to them con-
current effect. Lecte v. Griswold Post, 114 Conn. 400, 405,
158 A. 919; Costa v. Reed, 113 Conn. 377, 385, 155 A. 417,
and cases cited; 1 Sutherland, Statutory Construction (3d
Ed). § 2014.’ Shanley v. Jankura, 144 Conn. 694, 702, 137
A.2d 536.” Waterbury Teachers Assn. v. Furlong, 162
Conn. 390, 404, 294 A.2d 546; Daley v. Liquor Control Com-
mission, 166 Conn. 97, 101, 347 A.2d 69; 73 Am. Jur. 2d,
Statutes, § 393. There was no error in the court’s denial of
the pleas in abatement.
James Carbone assigns error in the trial court’s refusal
to find eight paragraphs of the draft finding which he
submitted according to former § 629 of the Practice Book.“
These paragraphs all involve matters which came out on
cross-examination of state witnesses by the defense. The
defendant’s request that the court include them as evi-
dence offered by and claimed to have been proven by the
state was not appropriate. “A party to an action may not
force into the claims of proof of his adversary factual
* Repealed October 1, 1974.
65a
matters on which the latter does not rely.” Darling v.
Burrone Bros., Inc., 162 Conn. 187, 190, 292 A.2d 912;
Franks v. Lockwood, 146 Conn. 273, 276, 150 A.2d 215.
The court properly denied the request.
The informations charged each defendant with four sepa-
rate counts of larceny in excess of $2000, in violation of
then § 53-63a of the General Statutes.* In his motion for
a bill of particulars, James Carbone asked “whether the
state claims the defendant is a principal thief or receiver
of stolen goods.” The state objected to this portion of
the motion, and the court denied the defendant’s request
to force the state to specify. This was error. Under the
former statutory scheme, § 53-65 of the General Statutes’
authorized prosecution and punishment of a receiver as
a principal offender under § 53-63. One charged under the
larceny statute could be convicted by proof either that he
was a principal or that he was a receiver. State v. Pal-
kimas, 153 Conn. 555, 562, 219 A.2d 220. The essential
elements of larceny and of receiving stolen property differ.
State v. Huot, 170 Conn. 463, 467, —— A.2d ——. The in-
formation cited the larceny statute and alleged specific
conduct of the defendant. It did not allege specifically
any of the elements of the crime either of receiving stolen
property or of larceny, except insofar as those elements
might be understood as comprehended in the reference to
the statute. Indeed, since it referred only to § 53-63a, and
made no mention of § 53-65, the information would not
have apprised a layman of the possibility of a conviction
for receiving stolen property.’ “In all criminal prosecu-
* Repealed October 1, 1971.
* Repealed October 1, 1971.
*This defect is cured in the present larceny statute, § 53a-119,
which specifically includes receiving stolen property as a type of
tions, the accused shall have a right . . to be informed of
the nature and cause of the accusation.” Conn. const.,
art. I, §8; United States constitution, amend, VI. “Short
form” informations were permitted by then Practice Book
§ 493° and held constitutional because the defendant had
the opportunity to obtain the information to which he was
constitutionally entitled by requesting a bill of particulars.
State v. Davis, 141 Conn. 319, 321, 106 A.2d 159. Here
the defendant made use of that opportunity so there was
no waiver of the right such as was found in State v. Cole-
man, 167 Conn. 260, 268, 355 A.2d 11. The error, however,
does not require a new trial because it is clear beyond a
reasonable doubt that it was not prejudicial to the defen-
dant. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S. Ct.
824, 17 L. Ed. 2d 705. Obviously, the experienced counsel
for James Carbone was aware that § 53-63a was violated
either by larceny or by receipt of stolen property; other-
wise he would not have asked the prosecution to elect
between the two theories. He undoubtedly understood the
state’s refusal to elect as an implicit statement that it
was charging both and would endeavor to prove either.
See State v. Palkimas, 153 Conn. 555, 562, 219 A.2d 220;
State v. Ward, 49 Conn. 429, 439. He had notice of this
and an opportunity to prepare his case accordingly.
A pretrial motion for severance of the cases was denied
by the court. James alleged that he would be prejudiced
by the inability of the jury to separate evidence against
him from evidence against Peter, and that the evidence
against Peter would involve statements inculpating James
but not subject to cross-examination by him. It does not
appear that James and Peter had antagonistic defenses,
* Repealed October 1, 1976.
67a
or that a joint trial was likely to result in any injustice.
Compare State v. Holup, 166 Conn. 471, 352 A.2d 275.
This is not a case analogous to Bruton v. United States,
391 U.S. 123, 88 S. Ct. 1620, 20 L. Ed. 2d 476, where a
confession by one defendant, properly admissible against
him, also implicated another. At the time of the motion
counsel did not point to any statements admissible against
Peter which might also implicate James, and it is signif-
icant, although the likelihood of prejudice must be deter-
mined on the facts as known before the trial rather than
after, that even now, with the benefit of hindsight, he iden-
tifies no such statements in his brief.
The defendant James Carbone also makes certain claims
of error in the court’s failure to give requested charges.
The court charged the jury, both as to the testimony of
accomplices and as to good reputation evidence, substan-
tially as requested. The defendant’s brief presents no argu-
ment to support these claims of error; therefore, they
are not considered. Nowsky v. Siedlecki, 83 Conn. 109, 119,
75 A. 135; see Stoner v. Stoner, 163 Conn. 345, 307 A.2d
146. Nor do we consider claims by James Carbone based
on exceptions to the charge taken by counsel for Peter
Carbone. Practice Book § 249. As already implicitly stated
in this opinion, it was not error for the court to charge
the jury that the defendant could be convicted either as a
principal thief or as a receiver of stolen goods.
The Court permitted Scofield to testify, overruling the
objection that the testimony of one alleged accomplice
could not be used to corroborate the testimony of another.
There is no such rule in this state.
The court properly admitted the testimony of a hand-
writing expert to authenticate the signature on the “John
Parks” slip. The defendant cites no authority for the
proposition that authentication should not be allowed prior
to a claim that the signature is not authentic, nor are we
aware of any.
The court admitted the records of Sola Metal, a New
York scrap dealer, showing a purchase from Fairfield Scrap
of four pieces of copper on January 25, 1971. The pieces
weighed 2340, 4240, 2348 and 2420 pounds, with a deduc-
tion for 667 pounds of dirt. The indictment charged the
defendants with larceny of copper, specifically, five pieces
weighing a total of 10,000 pounds, on or about January
24, 1971. The defendant objected that this evidence was
speculative and insufficiently tied to other evidence in the
case. He pointed to testimony by Edwards and Scofield
that there was no way that more than 600 pounds of dirt
could have been put on the copper, and to certain other
testimony apparently viewed by him as inconsistent, but
not presented in the finding or the brief in such a manner
that any inconsistency appears. The dirt is not such an
inconsistency as to make the evidence speculative or irrele-
vant; there was no error in admitting the records.
At the trial, the court refused to permit counsel for
Peter Carbone to cross-examine Scofield and Edwards re-
garding their prior invocation of their fifth amendment
privilege when being deposed in a civil action which Car-
penter brought against them and the Carbones. It is Peter’s
contention that this would have shown the bad faith of
Scofield and Edwards, who were entitled to claim the
privilege, but did so after deciding to cooperate with the
police. Peter’s theory was that they claimed the privilege
only in order to prevent the Carbones from learning their
testimony in advance. This amounts to mere speculation.
The prior invocation of a constitutional privilege can be
motivated by so many factors other than bias that the
court was within its discretion in excluding cross-exami-
nation on this matter as irrelevant. Raffel v. United States,
69a
271 U.S. 494, 499, 46 S. Ct. 566, 70 L. Ed. 1054, relied upon
by the defendants, is not to the contrary; it held only
that when a defendant waived the privilege and testified
at his second trial that he did not make a statement re-
ported by a witness, he might be cross-examined concern-
ing his silence at the first trial, which was inconsistent
with such a denial. In Grunewald v. United States, 353
US. 391, 77 S. Ct. 963, 1 L. Ed. 2d 931, Raffel was distin. .
guished, and the Supreme
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