State v. Washington

In State v. Washington, 39 Conn. App. 175 n.3, 664 A.2d 1153 (1995), the defendant, who had been serving a five year term of probation after having pleaded guilty to a narcotics related charge, appealed from the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation and imposing a sentence of five years imprisonment with no probation following his arrest for a variety of alleged offenses. Although the defendant failed to file a motion for the judge's disqualification pursuant to Practice Book 997, now 1-23, and failed to seek plain error review of the propriety of the court's participation in plea negotiations and the probation revocation hearing, we determined that our sua sponte invocation of plain error review was warranted. Id., 175-81. The Court held that the court committed plain error in presiding over the probation revocation hearing after having actively participated in plea negotiations with the defendant, the appearance of a fair trial having been lost. Id., 181-82. Accordingly, the judgment was reversed, and the matter was remanded for a new revocation of probation hearing. Id., 183.