State of Connecticut v. Robert Courchesne

Summary

The court upheld the denial of the defendant's suppression motion, concluding that the police encounter was, at most, a lawful investigative stop and that the defendant voluntarily accompanied officers to the station. It recognized the common-law born-alive rule, holding that an infant born alive may qualify as a person under the homicide statutes even when fatal injuries were inflicted in utero, and rejected the due process and ex post facto challenges. The court nevertheless ordered a new trial on the charges predicated on the infant's death because the fact finder used the wrong standard for determining whether the infant was brain dead at delivery, while affirming the conviction for the mother's murder. Zarella, J., joined by Norcott, J., concurred in part and dissented in part, principally disputing the adoption and retroactive application of the born-alive rule.