Editing Connecticut General Assembly (section)

==Subpoena power==
The General Assembly has [[subpoena]] power under [[Connecticut General Statutes]] §2-46. Recent decisions by the [[Connecticut Supreme Court]], the [[state supreme court]], have clarified and limited this power.

§2-46 vests the Connecticut General Assembly with broad subpoena power. The power to compel documents and testimony is vested in the [[President of the Senate]], [[Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives|Speaker of the House of Representatives]], or either of the chairman of any committee (Connecticut has joint Committees, with a chairman from each house of the General Assembly). Once subpoenaed, a person refusing to comply may be fined between $100 and $1000, and [[imprisoned]] for between one month and one year.

The legislature has the power to subpoena the sitting [[governor of Connecticut]] in limited circumstances. The Connecticut Supreme Court clarified these circumstances, during the [[John G. Rowland]] [[Impeachment in the United States|impeachment]] process, in ''Office of the Legislature v. The Select Committee On Inquiry'', 271 Conn. 540 (2004), holding that the legislature can issue subpoenas only in conjunction with its mandate under the [[State constitution (United States)|state constitution]]. Impeachment is a constitutional power of the legislature under Article IX of the [[Connecticut Constitution]], and therefore the legislature can compel the testimony of the governor in conjunction with impeachment proceedings.

The ability of the legislature to subpoena [[judge]]s of the [[State court (United States)|state court]] has also been clarified in court. During the controversy surrounding the retirement of the [[chief justice]] of the Connecticut Supreme Court, William "Taco" Sullivan, the Connecticut General Assembly subpoenaed the testimony of Sullivan, who was still sitting on the Court. Sullivan challenged the subpoena in [[Connecticut Superior Court]].  The court ruled, in ''Sullivan v. McDonald'' (WL 2054052 2006), that the legislature could only subpoena a sitting Justice in an impeachment proceeding. On appeal, the entire Connecticut Supreme Court [[Judicial disqualification|recused]] itself, and the argument was made before the judges of the [[Connecticut Appellate Court]] sitting as the Supreme Court. The Judiciary Committee, who issued the subpoenas, argued that they could also issue subpoenas in conjunction with their constitutional confirmation power. Sullivan voluntarily testified before a ruling was issued.