(a) In any criminal prosecution of a defendant for a violation of § 53a-54a, 53a-54b, 53a-54c, 53a-54d, 53a-70, 53a-70a or 53a-70c, upon a motion of the defendant before the start of a trial on any such offense, the court shall conduct a hearing at which hearsay or secondary evidence shall be admissible to determine whether any jailhouse witness’s testimony is reliable and admissible. The court shall make a prima facie determination concerning the reliability of such testimony after evaluation of the evidence submitted at the hearing and the information or material disclosed pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (5), inclusive, of subsection (a) of § 54-86o, and may consider the following factors:

Terms Used In Connecticut General Statutes 54-86p

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(1) The extent to which the jailhouse witness’s testimony is confirmed by other evidence;

(2) The specificity of the testimony;

(3) The extent to which the testimony contains details known only by the perpetrator of the alleged offense;

(4) The extent to which the details of the testimony could be obtained from a source other than the defendant; and

(5) The circumstances under which the jailhouse witness initially provided information supporting such testimony to a sworn member of a municipal police department, a sworn member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or a prosecutorial official, including whether the jailhouse witness was responding to a leading question.

(b) If the prosecutorial official fails to make a prima facie showing that the jailhouse witness’s testimony is reliable, the court shall not allow the testimony to be admitted.

(c) For the purposes of this section, “jailhouse witness” means jailhouse witness, as defined in § 54-86o.

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