a public defender

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Would you believe it? Two reversals in two weeks! Two! The Appellate Court yesterday reversed a conviction on the grounds that a Motion to Suppress should have been granted on an issue, apparently, of first impression in Connecticut.

We conclude that the defendant was unlawfully detained, that his consent to search the vehicle was tainted by that illegal detention and that the state failed to purge the taint of the illegal detention.

The defendant was stopped for illegal lane changes. After obtaining his license and determining that there were no outstanding warrants for him, the cop wrote him a ticket and then started inquiring about any other illegal activity. The Court was asked to determine whether the extension of the stop was supported by any reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts that a crime has been or is being committed.

The Court held that the extension of the stop was not supported by “R & AS” and that his subsequent consent to search the car was not voluntary.

Reversed! (Of course, as is par for the course, here’s the dissent.)

Here’s some context for the title: