On a cold, grey day in early March, I drove into New Haven with a friend. We parked across the street from the Apple Store in the public parking lot designated for the Shops at Yale, walked down Broadway a few blocks and took a left onto the Yale Campus. We meandered our way through, passing the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, to arrive at our destination: the Sterling Law Building. We stopped in front to take a picture next to the “Yale Law School” sign and as we proceeded to the doorway, we saw another sign with a map directing us to the rear entrance for our intended activity. We took leave and headed for the back of the building, encountering a few Judicial Marshals patrolling along the way. When we turned onto Grove Street, the entrance to the cemetery was in front of us, and on the stone entryway, it eerily read “The Dead Shall Be Raised.” On our left was the Collegiate Gothic edifice of the Yale Law School with an a-frame sandwich board reading “Court Entrance.” As we entered the building, a school security guard greeted us and we proceeded to the temporary metal detector set up for the occasion. After clearing security, we were directed to enter the Levinnson Auditorium.
Upon entering the lecture hall, we were asked if we were students by a Judicial Marshal who was acting like an usher of sorts. We identified ourselves as members of the public and were asked to sit in the seats behind the break in the aisle. When we sat down, we discovered that there were small lecture desks attached to each seat that folded up and rested right above our laps. It was very convenient for taking notes on my yellow legal pad; I never leave home without one.
At the front of the room was a panel of six seats facing the audience; and facing the panel were two counsel tables, one on each side of a podium that had a microphone. There was a clerk seated to the side, and video cameras and other audiovisual equipment was peppered around the large room.
A few moments later, another Judicial Marshal banged a gavel and asked everyone to rise as the Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut, robed in black, filed into the auditorium, passing under the stained glass windows and took their seats at their temporary bench. The Marshal then called out “Oyez, oyez, oyez” and opened Court.
Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins gave his opening remarks welcoming the audience to a session of the Connecticut Supreme Court. He stated that the Supreme Court’s visit to Yale is a continuation of the Court’s tradition of the On Circuit Educational Program that began in 1986. Chief Justice Mullins noted that this was the Court’s third visit to Yale, having been there before in 1990 and 2008. He emphasized that the cases are real, involving real people and real issues, and that the outcomes of the appeals are important to the parties and the development of Connecticut law.
The first case heard was State of Connecticut v. Sergio J. Correa, SC 20728.
In 2018, while Mr. Correa was being questioned by the police, his cell phone was confiscated. Eventually he was convicted of a triple murder and appealed. The issues that were taken on appeal by Mr. Correa were “A. Whether the warrantless seizure of the defendant’s cell phone was justified under the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement, and B. Whether the search warrant for the entire contents of the defendant’s cell phone violated the Fourth Amendment and Article I, § 7, of the Connecticut Constitution.”
After the first case was heard, the Justices filed out and the arguing attorneys took questions from the students in attendance. Moments later, the Justices filed back in and took their seats on the panel again.
The second case heard was Gregory Johnson v. Superior Court, SC 21074.
In 2020, Mr. Johnson made derogatory comments, that included racial epithets to a Judge after a Habeas Corpus Hearing. He was later found in criminal contempt and appealed. The issues taken up on appeal by Mr. Johnson, the Plaintiff in Error, were “Whether the trial court erred when it failed to defer the plaintiff’s contempt proceeding?; and Whether the trial court properly concluded that the conduct of the plaintiff in error constituted criminal contempt beyond a reasonable doubt?”
After the second case was argued, the Justices filed out for a final time and the Judicial Marshal who had opened Court, banged the gavel to close the session.
The appellate process is actually rather simple in its outlines but if you dive into it, you will discover that it is actually governed by an intricate and very particular set of rules, right down to the font used in the briefs (which is currently Serif, 12 pt., by the way). The first step in the process is getting a final judgment from a trial court with which you do not agree, and filing an Appeal in a timely fashion; you usually have twenty days in many instances.
In accordance with the Connecticut Practice Book Section 63-4, within ten days after the filing of the Appeal, the Appellant must file a Preliminary Statement of the Issues, a Designation of the Proposed Contents of the Clerk Appendix, a Court Reporter’s Acknowledgment or Certificate that no transcript is necessary, a Docketing Statement, a Statement for Preargument Conference, a Constitutionality Notice and a Sealing Order form, if any.
Then the Appellant files a Brief, then the Appellee files a Brief and finally the Appellant may file a Reply Brief, which is optional but most agree should be done. The “briefs” are nothing but brief. In fact, they are allowed to contain several thousand words.
Once the briefing is done, Oral Arguments are scheduled and heard in most cases, at the discretion of the Court. At the Appellate Court level, each party gets 20 minutes to argue their side, and at the Supreme Court level, each party gets 30 minutes. Only the Appellant may reserve time for rebuttal. The entire time the attorneys are arguing, the Justices interrupt with questions. Therefore, the number one consideration is that you must be fully prepared, and expect to have your flow broken and be able to get back on track with your argument with a sense of finesse. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.
The day we were there, Connecticut Network (CT-N) taped and televised the proceedings. I later re-watched the arguments on their website and saw the emotions on the attorneys faces for the first time, as I was sitting behind them on the day of the live arguments. The audio files of the arguments can be found on the Connecticut Judicial Branch Website. I encourage you to watch and/or listen to them.
Also, on the Branch’s Website, you can look up the dockets for the cases and read the briefs and transcripts, and subscribe to the cases to receive an email when there is activity on this case. I made sure to subscribe to both cases so when the decisions are issued, I will get them.
My friend and I left the Law School that day with lots of questions and excitedly discussed the cases on the walk back to the car. It was truly an enjoyable experience to see the Supreme Court in action.
You can follow the Connecticut Judicial Branch on X (formerly known as Twitter) to see when and where the Appellate and Supreme Courts will be On Circuit next.