The Connecticut Evidence Code and the Separation of Powers Note

Connecticut enacted its first formal evidence code in 2000. Initially, the rules set forth in the evidence code were understood as binding and not subject to appellate court revision. However, in State v. DeJesus, a 2008 Connecticut Supreme Court decision, the court held otherwise. The DeJesus court interpreted the plain language and history of the code as not intending to bind the appellate courts. The plurality went on, in dicta, to conclude that such a holding was necessary to preserve the constitutionality of the code. The plurality asserted that the superior court judges, in their rulemaking capacity as delegated to them by the legislature, lack the constitutional authority to bind the appellate courts to such a code. This decision is one of several in a line of Connecticut cases raising the question of the extent to which the legislative and judicial branches exert control over state judicial procedure. This Note discusses the four opinions issued in State v. DeJesus and examines the ongoing constitutional questions surrounding the separation of powers between these branches and the newly raised question as to the separation of powers within the judicial branch itself