Steve v. Commissioner of Correction

In Steve v. Commissioner of Correction, 39 Conn. App. 455, 665 A.2d 168, cert. denied, 235 Conn. 929, 667 A.2d 555 (1995), the petitioner was arrested on June 13, 1985, in two criminal cases, but was unable to post bond. On October 22, 1985, Steve was convicted of robbery in the first degree and assault in the first degree under docket number CR4-118626, and was sentenced to a term of twenty years incarceration. Id. On December 30, 1985, Steve pleaded guilty to a separate charge of assault in the first degree under docket number CR4-118628 and was sentenced to a term of ten years, to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed in CR4-118626. Id., 457-58. The Court then set aside the conviction of robbery in the first degree and assault in the first degree under docket number CR4-118626 and remanded the case for a new trial. Id., 458. The Court affirmed on June 21, 1988. State v. Steve, 208 Conn. 38, 544 A.2d 1179 (1988). On July 21, 1988, while the case was on remand, the petitioner entered pleas of nolo contendere to the robbery and assault charges and was sentenced to twenty years incarceration. Steve v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 39 Conn. App. 458. On appeal, the Court concluded that the time served on the vacated sentence between December 30, 1985, the date the petitioner pleaded guilty and was sentenced under docket number CR4-118628, and July 1, 1988, the date the petitioner successfully appealed from his conviction under docket number CR4-118626, must be treated and credited as postconviction confinement and not as presentence confinement. Id., 463. The Steve court noted that the "constitutional guarantee against multiple punishments for the same offense absolutely requires that punishment already exacted must be fully credited in imposing sentence upon a new conviction for the same offense." Id.