2011 Connecticut Code
Title 54 Criminal Procedure
Chapter 960 Information, Procedure and Bail
Sec. 54-56g. Pretrial alcohol education program.

      Sec. 54-56g. Pretrial alcohol education program. (a) There shall be a pretrial alcohol education program for persons charged with a violation of section 14-227a, 14-227g, 15-132a, 15-133, 15-140l or 15-140n. Upon application by any such person for participation in such program and payment to the court of an application fee of one hundred dollars and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of one hundred dollars, the court shall, but only as to the public, order the court file sealed, provided such person states under oath, in open court or before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths, under penalties of perjury that: (1) If such person is charged with a violation of section 14-227a, such person has not had such program invoked in such person's behalf within the preceding ten years for a violation of section 14-227a, (2) if such person is charged with a violation of section 14-227g, such person has never had such program invoked in such person's behalf for a violation of section 14-227a or 14-227g, (3) such person has not been convicted of a violation of section 53a-56b or 53a-60d, a violation of subsection (a) of section 14-227a before or after October 1, 1981, or a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a on or after October 1, 1985, and (4) such person has not been convicted in any other state at any time of an offense the essential elements of which are substantially the same as section 53a-56b or 53a-60d or subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a. Unless good cause is shown, a person shall be ineligible for participation in such pretrial alcohol education program if such person's alleged violation of section 14-227a or 14-227g caused the serious physical injury, as defined in section 53a-3, of another person. The application fee imposed by this subsection shall be credited to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund established by section 54-215. The evaluation fee imposed by this subsection shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.

      (b) The court, after consideration of the recommendation of the state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney in charge of the case, may, in its discretion, grant such application. If the court grants such application, the court shall refer such person to the Court Support Services Division for assessment and confirmation of the eligibility of the applicant and to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation. The Court Support Services Division, in making its assessment and confirmation, may rely on the representations made by the applicant under oath in open court with respect to convictions in other states of offenses specified in subsection (a) of this section. Upon confirmation of eligibility and receipt of the evaluation report, the defendant shall be referred to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services by the Court Support Services Division for placement in an appropriate alcohol intervention program for one year, or be placed in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program. The alcohol intervention program shall include a ten-session intervention program and a fifteen-session intervention program. Any person who enters the pretrial alcohol education program shall agree: (1) To the tolling of the statute of limitations with respect to such crime, (2) to a waiver of such person's right to a speedy trial, (3) to complete ten or fifteen counseling sessions in an alcohol intervention program or successfully complete a substance abuse treatment program of not less than twelve sessions pursuant to this section dependent upon the evaluation report and the court order, (4) to commence participation in an alcohol intervention program or substance abuse treatment program not later than ninety days after the date of entry of the court order unless granted a delayed entry into a program by the court, (5) upon completion of participation in the alcohol intervention program, to accept placement in a substance abuse treatment program upon the recommendation of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services pursuant to subsection (f) of this section or placement in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program which meets standards established by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, if the Court Support Services Division deems it appropriate, and (6) if ordered by the court, to participate in at least one victim impact panel. The suspension of the motor vehicle operator's license of any such person pursuant to section 14-227b shall be effective during the period such person is participating in the pretrial alcohol education program, provided such person shall have the option of not commencing the participation in such program until the period of such suspension is completed. If the Court Support Services Division informs the court that the defendant is ineligible for such program and the court makes a determination of ineligibility or if the program provider certifies to the court that the defendant did not successfully complete the assigned program or is no longer amenable to treatment and such person does not request, or the court denies, program reinstatement under subsection (e) of this section, the court shall order the court file to be unsealed, enter a plea of not guilty for such defendant and immediately place the case on the trial list. If such defendant satisfactorily completes the assigned program, such defendant may apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant and the court, on reviewing the record of the defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division and on finding such satisfactory completion, shall dismiss the charges. If the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against such defendant after satisfactorily completing the assigned program the court, upon receipt of the record of the defendant's participation in such program submitted by the Court Support Services Division, may on its own motion make a finding of such satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges. Upon motion of the defendant and a showing of good cause, the court may extend the one-year placement period for a reasonable period for the defendant to complete the assigned program. A record of participation in such program shall be retained by the Court Support Services Division for a period of ten years from the date the court grants the application for participation in such program. The Court Support Services Division shall transmit to the Department of Motor Vehicles a record of participation in such program for each person who satisfactorily completes such program. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall maintain for a period of ten years the record of a person's participation in such program as part of such person's driving record. The Court Support Services Division shall transmit to the Department of Environmental Protection the record of participation of any person who satisfactorily completes such program who has been charged with a violation of the provisions of section 15-132a, 15-133, 15-140l or 15-140n. The Department of Environmental Protection shall maintain for a period of ten years the record of a person's participation in such program as a part of such person's boater certification record.

      (c) At the time the court grants the application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education program, such person shall also pay to the court a nonrefundable program fee of three hundred fifty dollars if such person is ordered to participate in the ten-session intervention program and a nonrefundable program fee of five hundred dollars if such person is ordered to participate in the fifteen-session intervention program. If the court grants the application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education program and such person is ordered to participate in a substance abuse treatment program, such person shall be responsible for the costs associated with participation in such program. No person may be excluded from either program for inability to pay such fee or cost, provided (1) such person files with the court an affidavit of indigency or inability to pay, (2) such indigency or inability to pay is confirmed by the Court Support Services Division, and (3) the court enters a finding thereof. If the court finds that a person is indigent or unable to pay for a treatment program, the costs of such program shall be paid from the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. If the court finds that a person is indigent or unable to pay for an intervention program, the court may waive all or any portion of the fee for such intervention program. If the court denies the application, such person shall not be required to pay the program fee. If the court grants the application and such person is later determined to be ineligible for participation in such pretrial alcohol education program or fails to complete the assigned program, the program fee shall not be refunded. All program fees shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k.

      (d) If a person returns to court with certification from a program provider that such person did not successfully complete the assigned program or is no longer amenable to treatment, the provider, to the extent practicable, shall include a recommendation to the court as to whether a ten-session intervention program, a fifteen-session intervention program or placement in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program would best serve such person's needs. The provider shall also indicate whether the current program referral was an initial referral or a reinstatement to the program.

      (e) When a person subsequently requests reinstatement into an alcohol intervention program or a substance abuse treatment program and the Court Support Services Division verifies that such person is eligible for reinstatement into such program and thereafter the court favorably acts on such request, such person shall pay a nonrefundable program fee of one hundred seventy-five dollars if ordered to complete a ten-session intervention program or two hundred fifty dollars if ordered to complete a fifteen-session intervention program, as the case may be. Unless good cause is shown, such fees shall not be waived. If the court grants a person's request to be reinstated into a treatment program, such person shall be responsible for the costs, if any, associated with being reinstated into the treatment program. All program fees collected in connection with a reinstatement to an intervention program shall be credited to the pretrial account established under section 54-56k. No person shall be permitted more than two program reinstatements pursuant to this subsection.

      (f) The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall contract with service providers, develop standards and oversee appropriate alcohol programs to meet the requirements of this section. Said department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to establish standards for such alcohol programs. Any person ordered to participate in a treatment program shall do so at a state-licensed treatment program which meets the standards established by said department. Any defendant whose employment or residence makes it unreasonable to attend an alcohol intervention program or a substance abuse treatment program in this state may attend a program in another state which has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, those of this state, subject to the approval of the court and payment of the application, evaluation and program fees and treatment costs, as appropriate, as provided in this section.

      (g) The court may, as a condition of granting such application, require that such person participate in a victim impact panel program approved by the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Department. Such victim impact panel program shall provide a nonconfrontational forum for the victims of alcohol-related or drug-related offenses and offenders to share experiences on the impact of alcohol-related or drug-related incidents in their lives. Such victim impact panel program shall be conducted by a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of victims of accidents caused by persons who operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, or both. Such organization may assess a participation fee of not more than seventy-five dollars on any person required by the court to participate in such program, provided such organization shall offer a hardship waiver when it has determined that the imposition of a fee would pose an economic hardship for such person.

      (h) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in the case of any person charged with a violation of section 14-227a while operating a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1.

      (P.A. 81-446, S. 1; P.A. 82-408, S. 1; 82-472, S. 166, 183; P.A. 83-508, S. 1, 5; 83-571, S. 1; P.A. 85-350, S. 3; 85-417; 85-529, S. 1, 4; 85-596, S. 3; P.A. 86-403, S. 91, 132; P.A. 89-110, S. 1-3; 89-219, S. 8, 10; 89-314, S. 4, 5; P.A. 91-24, S. 7; 91-243; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6, S. 81, 117; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-135, S. 8; P.A. 95-257, S. 5, 58; P.A. 96-180, S. 129, 166; P.A. 97-309, S. 14, 23; 97-322, S. 7, 9; June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8, S. 32, 88; P.A. 98-81, S. 11; P.A. 99-255, S. 3; P.A. 01-201, S. 2, 3; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8, S. 9, 13; P.A. 02-132, S. 35; May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1, S. 117; P.A. 03-244, S. 11, 13; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 177; P.A. 04-217, S. 19; 04-250, S. 2; P.A. 06-130, S. 21; P.A. 07-167, S. 42; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4, S. 20; P.A. 09-140, S. 14; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 54; P.A. 10-18, S. 24; 10-30, S. 1.)

      History: P.A. 82-408 added "before or after October 1, 1982" after "14-227a" in Subsec. (a), in Subsec. (b) changed "grants" to "may, in its discretion, grant" and eliminated provision that license suspension shall be ineffective during period of participation in program and reversed upon satisfactory completion of program, in Subsec. (d) changed "office of adult probation" to "Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission" and "Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission" to "service providers" and in Subsec. (e) after "fund" added "from which all moneys except administrative costs, shall be transferred to the Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission"; P.A. 82-472 changed date applicable to violations of Sec. 14-227a from October 1, 1982, to October 1, 1981; P.A. 83-508 repealed provision establishing alcohol education and treatment revolving fund from which moneys shall be transferred to Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission for education and treatment programs and provided that $200 fee shall be credited to the general fund instead of being deposited in revolving fund and that any balance in the revolving fund on July 1, 1983, shall be transferred to the general fund; P.A. 83-571 amended Subsec. (b) to provide that a person who enters the system agrees to accept more intensive treatment or other forms of education or treatment or to participate in additional meetings or counseling sessions if the office of adult probation deems it appropriate, to provide that the case of a defendant "no longer amenable to treatment under such program" shall be placed on the trial list, and to replace the provision that a defendant's "case shall be brought to trial" with provision that the court shall "enter a plea of not guilty for such defendant and immediately place the case on the trial list", to require the office of adult probation to transmit to the department of motor vehicles a record of participation for each person who satisfactorily completes such program and to require the department of motor vehicles to maintain for 7 years a record of a person's participation in the program, and amended Subsec. (c) to increase the fee for participation from $200 to $250; P.A. 85-350 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that unless good cause is shown a person is ineligible for the program if his violation caused the serious physical injury of another person, and amended Subsec. (b) to provide that if the defendant does not apply for dismissal of the charges against him after satisfactory completion of the program the court may on its own motion make a finding of satisfactory completion and dismiss the charges; P.A. 85-417 replaced references to office of adult probation with references to bail commission; P.A. 85-529 amended Subsec. (a) to establish an application fee of $15 and provide that said fee be credited to the criminal injuries compensation fund; P.A. 85-596 amended Subsec. (a) to exclude persons convicted of a violation of "subsection (a)" of section 14-227a before or after October 1, 1981, or "a violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of section 14-227a on or after October 1, 1985"; P.A. 86-403 made technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 89-110 amended Subsec. (a) to exclude persons convicted of a violation of Sec. 53a-56b or 53a-60d or convicted in any other state at any time of an offense the essential elements of which are substantially the same as Sec. 53a-56b, 53a-60d or 14-227a(a)(1) or (2), amended Subsec. (b) to authorize the bail commission to rely on the representations made by the applicant re convictions in other states, and amended Subsec. (d) to authorize a defendant to attend an alcohol education and treatment program in another state under certain conditions; P.A. 89-219 amended Subsec. (a) to raise the application fee from $15 to $50; P.A. 89-314 amended Subsec. (b) to add proviso that a person whose license has been suspended pursuant to Sec. 14-227b shall have the option of not commencing participation in the program until the period of such suspension is completed; P.A. 91-24 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision permitting the person to make a sworn statement "before any person designated by the clerk and duly authorized to administer oaths"; P.A. 91-243 amended Subsec. (b) to make technical language changes to clarify the role of the Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission in the pretrial alcohol education system and repealed obsolete Subsec. (e) re transfer of moneys in alcohol education and treatment fund to general fund; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 92-6 amended Subsec. (c) to raise fee from $250 to $350; P.A. 93-381 replaced Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission and executive director with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, respectively, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-135 amended Subsec. (b) to provide referral to bail commissioner for assessment and confirmation of eligibility for program, and amended Subsec. (c) to require payment of nonrefundable program fee at time court grants application and to specify that payment of such fee is not required if court denies application, but that fee is not refundable if ineligibility is determined at a later time or applicant does not complete the program; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-180 made technical change in Subsec. (d), substituting "department" for "commission", effective June 3, 1996; P.A. 97-309 and June 18 Sp. Sess. P.A. 97-8 both changed eight meetings or counseling sessions to ten counseling sessions in Subsec. (b) and in Subsec. (c) increased the program fee from $350 to $425, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 97-322 revised effective date of P.A. 97-309 but without affecting this section; P.A. 98-81 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by changing "information or complaint" to "court file"; P.A. 99-255 amended Subsec. (b) to require a person who enters the system to agree to participate in at least fifteen counseling sessions if such person was charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a(a)(2) and had a blood alcohol ratio of 0.16% or more of alcohol, by weight, amended Subsec. (c) to establish a program fee of $600 if the person was charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a(a)(2) and had a blood alcohol ratio of 0.16% or more of alcohol, by weight, and made technical changes for purposes of gender neutrality (Revisor's note: In Subsec. (b) a reference to "sixteen-hundredths of one per cent of more of alcohol" was changed editorially by the Revisors to "sixteen-hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol" for consistency with language in Subsec. (c)); P.A. 01-201 added Subsec. (b)(5) requiring a person who enters the system to agree to participate in at least one victim impact panel if ordered by the court and added Subsec. (e) to authorize the court to require participation in a victim impact panel program as a condition of granting the application, specify the nature of the program and the organization that will conduct the program and authorize the organization to assess a participation fee; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-8 amended Subsec. (c) by changing "General Fund" to "pretrial account", effective July 1, 2001; P.A. 02-132 replaced "Bail Commission" with "Court Support Services Division" in Subsecs. (b) and (c); May 9 Sp. Sess. P.A. 02-1 amended Subsec. (a) to require a pretrial alcohol education system for persons charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227g and a nonrefundable evaluation fee of $100, to require the court to order the court file sealed provided there is a statement under oath that, if such person is charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227a, such person has not had such system invoked in his or her behalf within the preceding 10 years for a violation of said section, and, if such person is charged with a violation of Sec. 14-227g, such person has never had such system invoked in his or her behalf for a violation of Sec. 14-227a or 14-227g, and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to require the court to refer applicants to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for evaluation, to require any person who enters the system to agree to complete ten or fifteen counseling sessions in an alcohol intervention program dependent upon the evaluation report and the court order and to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (c) to require payment to the court of a nonrefundable program fee of $325 if such person is ordered to participate in the ten-session program and a nonrefundable program fee of $500 if such person is ordered to participate in the fifteen-session program and to make technical changes, and amended Subsec. (d) to add provision re payment of the evaluation fee, effective July 1, 2002; P.A. 03-244 amended Subsec. (a) to include reference to Secs. 15-133, 15-140l and 15-140n and amended Subsec. (b) to provide for transmittal of the record of participation to the Department of Environmental Protection for persons who violated Sec. 15-133, 15-140l or 15-140n; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to restore existing statutory language inadvertently omitted in the drafting of public act 03-244; P.A. 04-217 added Subsec. (f) providing section not applicable where person charged with violation of Sec. 14-227a while operating commercial motor vehicle, effective January 1, 2005; P.A. 04-250 amended Subsec. (a) to make technical changes, amended Subsec. (b) to authorize the placement of the defendant in a state-licensed substance abuse treatment program, add as an alternative in Subdiv. (3) successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program of not less than twelve sessions, add in Subdiv. (4) that the person agrees to accept placement in a treatment program "upon completion of participation in the alcohol intervention program" and replace in Subdiv. (4) "placement in a treatment program which has standards substantially similar to, or higher than, a program of a provider under contract with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services" with "placement in a state-licensed treatment program which meets standards established by" said department, amended Subsec. (c) to replace "application for participation in the pretrial alcohol education system" with "application for participation in the alcohol intervention program", add provision that if the court grants participation in a treatment program the person is responsible for the costs associated with participation in such program, add provision that if the court finds a person is indigent or unable to pay for a treatment program the costs of such program shall be paid from the pretrial account established under Sec. 54-56k and make technical changes and amended Subsec. (d) to require any person ordered to participate in a treatment program to do so at a state-licensed treatment program which meets the standards established by said department and replace "an alcohol program" with "an alcohol intervention program or a treatment program"; P.A. 06-130 amended Subsec. (f) by making section inapplicable to holders of commercial driver's licenses, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 07-167 amended Subsec. (f) by deleting provision re holder of a commercial driver's license, effective July 1, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-4 amended Subsec. (e) to increase fee from $25 to $75 and to permit a waiver where fee would pose economic hardship; P.A. 09-140 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) by adding references to Sec. 15-132a and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing pretrial alcohol education system with pretrial alcohol education program, increasing application fee from $50 to $100 and specifying that evaluation fee shall be credited to pretrial account established under Sec. 54-56k, amended Subsec. (b) by providing that alcohol intervention program shall include 10-session and 15-session intervention programs, adding new Subdiv. (4) re commencing participation in program not later than 90 days after date of entry of court order, redesignating existing Subdivs. (4) and (5) as Subdivs. (5) and (6), adding provision re entry of not guilty plea for any person who does not pursue or who is denied program reinstatement by the court under Subsec. (e), extending from 7 to 10 years the record retention requirements re program participation for Departments of Motor Vehicles and Environmental Protection and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (c) by increasing alcohol intervention program fee from $325 to $350 and deleting "such evaluation and" re fees credited to pretrial account, added new Subsec. (d) re recommendations from program providers re persons who do not successfully complete assigned program, added new Subsec. (e) re reinstatement into intervention or treatment program and redesignated existing Subsecs. (d) to (f) as Subsecs. (f) to (h), effective January 1, 2010; P.A. 10-18 amended Subsecs. (a) to (c) by replacing references to "system" with references to "program"; P.A. 10-30 made technical changes and substituted references to "program" for references to "system", amended Subsec. (b) to substitute "ten years from the date the court grants the application for participation in such program" for "seven years from the date of application", amended Subsec. (c) to allow waiver of fees if court finds person indigent or unable to pay for intervention program, and amended Subsec. (f) to reference treatment costs, effective July 1, 2010.

      Trial court might reasonably have determined that defendant lost her eligibility to continue in the system of alcohol education when, shortly after she had been admitted, she again operated her vehicle while intoxicated. 200 C. 102. Pretrial alcohol education program cited. Id., 615.

      Cited. 39 CA 11. Cited. 45 CA 722. Program is a pretrial diversionary program designed to avoid trial and therefore court did not abuse its discretion in denying application for participation in program after jury selection had commenced. 86 CA 751.

      Cited as P.A. 81-446, S. 1. 37 CS 767. Cited. 38 CS 675; Id., 689.

      Subsec. (f):

      Defendant was ineligible for pretrial alcohol education program because she was the holder of a commercial driver's license at the time she was charged with violating Sec. 14-227a concerning operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. 110 CA 836.