State v. Morrison

The defendant appeals from the refusal of the trial court to consider the merits of his motion for sentence reduction. The sole issue is whether the doctrine of separation of powers mandates that a Practice Book rule prevail over a conflicting statute. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Prior to 1982, General Statutes § 53a-39 and Practice Book § 934 both provided that a sentencing court had the discretion to reduce any definite sentence. Effective June 8, 1982, the legislature amended § 53a-39 to limit the sentencing court’s power to reduce only definite *633sentences of “three years or…