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30 ¦ JULY 27, 2020                          CONNECTICUT OPINIONS

SUPREME COURT                                      to meaningfully distinguish the acts such that
                                                   they were susceptible of separation into parts,
                                                   the court held that the defendant’s assaultive
                                                   actions against this victim were part of the
CRIMINAL APPEALS                                   same continuing course of conduct. Therefore,

Court Reversed In Part Criminal                    the imposition of multiple punishments on the
                                                   defendant for this victim violated the double
Judgment Due To Double Jeopardy                    jeopardy clause. The court affirmed his con-
Violation                                          viction as to his attack on the second victim,
                                                   where two or three of the wounds occurred in
                                                   rapid succession with the defendant inflicting at
CASE: State of Connecticut v. Ruiz-Pacheco         least one. The defendant then walked away, and
COURT: Connecticut Supreme Court
DOC. NO.: SC 20206                                 then later attacked the second victim a second
                                                   time. Here, there was a break in the fighting,
COURT OPINION BY: Ecker                            and there was an opportunity for the defendant
DATE: July 09, 2020 • PAGES: 18
Defendant was convicted of two counts of first- to reconsider his actions.
degree assault and two counts of first-degree
assault as an accessory on the basis of a joint
physical assault involving defendant and his       APPELLATE COURT

brother on two separate victims. Defendant ap-
pealed his conviction on the basis that the Ap-
pellate Court improperly affirmed the judgment     ADMINISTRATIVE LAW • TAX
of conviction because he committed only two
assaults, one assault per victim, and therefore Court Affirms Motion To Dismiss For
his conviction of four assaults violated double    Failure To Allege Unlawful Act Or
jeopardy. The court agreed with the defendant      Omission From Tax Appeals Board
as to one victim’s assault, and therefore the
court reversed in part. The court first addressed
the attack against the first victim. This attack   CASE: Godbout v. Attanasio
consisted of a single, uninterrupted fight where   COURT: Connecticut Appellate Court
                                                   DOC. NO.: AC 42683
the defendant and his brother both stabbed the COURT OPINION BY: Prescott
victim within seconds of each other. There was DATE: July 14, 2020 • PAGES: 19
no evidence of a break in the fight, or any other Plaintiff owned a motor vehicle in Connecti-
intervening event separating one stabbing from cut. In 2012 he filed a complaint with the Free-
the other, which would have given the defen- dom of Information Commission against the
dant a chance to reconsider his actions and for- defendants, who were members of the East
mulate the intent to commit an additional as- Lyme Board of Assessment Appeals, for viola-
sault. Therefore, because there was no evidence tion of the Freedom of Information Act by not

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