Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 53a — PENAL CODE · Chapter 951 — Penal Code: Statutory Construction; Principles of Criminal Liability
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-16b (2026)

Affirmative defense of coparticipant to offense with firearm

✓ current as of May 2026
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In any prosecution for an offense under section 53a-55a, 53a-56a, 53a-60a, 53a-92a, 53a-94a, 53a-102a or 53a-103a in which the defendant was not the only participant, it shall be an affirmative defense that the defendant: (1) Was not armed with a pistol, revolver, machine gun, shotgun, rifle or other firearm, and (2) had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon.

(P.A. 75-380, S. 13; P.A. 92-260, S. 2.)

History: P.A. 92-260 made technical changes.

Defendant is entitled to a theory of defense instruction as a matter of law where evidence under section is before jury. 178 C. 704. Cited. 209 C. 75.

Cited. 23 CA 615; 24 CA 195; 45 CA 390.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2011–2022 · leading case: State v. Gonzalez, 15 A.3d 1049 (Conn. 2011).
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State v. Gonzalez, 15 A.3d 1049 (Conn. 2011). · cites it 7× “The state notes that the harshness of the strict liability aspect of this aggravating circumstance is mitigated by General Statutes § 53a-16b, 9 which is an affirmative defense, whereby the defendant may prove that he was not armed with a firearm and had no reasonable ground to…”
State v. White, 215 Conn. App. 273 (Conn. App. Ct. 2022). · cites it 9× “complice should at least have knowledge of the firearm, as required under federal law, was unavailing, as this state’s Supreme Court, having addressed a similar issue in Gonzalez, is the ultimate authority on the interpretation of Connecticut statutory law; moreover, there was…”
State v. Swebilius, 159 A.3d 1099 (Conn. 2017). · cites it 2× “preciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to control his conduct within the requirements of the law"); General Statutes § 53a-16b (affirmative defense for coparticipant in firearm offense if defendant was unarmed and "had no reasonable ground to believe that any other…”
Gonzalez v. Comm'r of Corr., 205 Conn. App. 511 (Conn. App. Ct. 2021). · cites it 7× “in which the defendant was not the only participant, it shall be an affirmative defense that the defendant: (1) Was not armed with a pistol, revolver, machine gun, shotgun, rifle or other firearm, and (2) had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant was armed…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.