Conn. Gen. Stat. » Title 54 — CRIMINAL PROCEDURE · Chapter 961 — Trial and Proceedings after Conviction
Connecticut General Statutes

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 54-85a (2026)

Sequestering of witnesses in criminal prosecution

✓ current as of May 2026
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In any criminal prosecution, the court, upon motion of the state or the defendant, shall cause any witness to be sequestered during the hearing on any issue or motion or any part of the trial of such prosecution in which he is not testifying.

(1967, P.A. 498.)

Sequestration order merely prohibits sequestered witness from being present in courtroom when he is not testifying. 169 C. 322. Cited. Id., 428; 185 C. 211; 187 C. 6; 199 C. 62; 211 C. 672; 230 C. 591; 235 C. 711; 236 C. 112; 237 C. 284.

Cited. 11 CA 80; 13 CA 687; 16 CA 172; 20 CA 342; 21 CA 474; 32 CA 448; 33 CA 339; judgment reversed in part, see 232 C. 431; judgment reversed on issues of sufficiency of evidence and jury misconduct, see 235 C. 502; 34 CA 276; 38 CA 371. Scope of suppression order was not limited only to the suppression hearing and defendant did not establish that he had been prejudiced by police officers' discussion of their testimony with each other in the time between the hearing and the trial. 74 CA 802.

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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 29 cases, 1968–2016 · leading case: State v. Outing, 3 A.3d 1 (Conn. 2010).
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State v. Outing, 3 A.3d 1 (Conn. 2010). · cites it 8× “2d 997 (1995), the Appellate Court held that, when a sequestration order has been granted pursuant to General Statutes § 54-85a, [15] *28 the language of which is substantially identical to Practice Book § 42-36; see footnote 13 of this opinion; "only a witness who was present…”
State v. Cassidy, 672 A.2d 899 (Conn. 1996). · cites it 10× “General Statutes § 54-85a and Practice Book § 876 afford the parties in a criminal case the right, upon proper motion, to an order prohibiting the attendance of any witness at a hearing or trial when that witness is not actually testifying.”
State v. Swinton, 847 A.2d 921 (Conn. 2004). · cites it 5× “At the start of voir dire, the defendant sought a sequestration of “[a]ny and all potential witnesses” pursuant to General Statutes § 54-85a. 62 A second request was made at the start of evidence.”
State v. Troupe, 677 A.2d 917 (Conn. 1996). · cites it 4× “On the day before the commencement of the evidentiary portion of the trial, the trial court granted the defendant’s motion for an order requiring the sequestration of the state’s witnesses 23 pursuant to General Statutes § 54-85a and Practice Book § 876.”
State v. Falby, 444 A.2d 213 (Conn. 1982). · cites it 4× “Williams, supra, 331 ; General Statutes § 54-85a; that order cannot be *28 avoided by the disingenuous strategy of transferring the testifying witness' voice from the courtroom to a transcript.”
State v. Sullivan, 525 A.2d 1353 (Conn. App. Ct. 1987). · cites it 6× “) See also General Statutes § 54-85a. 5 In State v. Stovall, supra, our Supreme Court, after taking note of Practice Book § 876 and General Statutes § 54-85a, held that a trial court commits error when it violates a sequestration order.”
State v. Robinson, 646 A.2d 118 (Conn. 1994). · cites it 7× “The principal issue presented is whether the defendant was prejudiced by the trial court’s violation of its own witness sequestration order issued pursuant to General Statutes § 54-85a. 1 In accordance with our grant of certification, 2 the state appeals from the Appellate…”
State v. Morgan, 797 A.2d 616 (Conn. App. Ct. 2002). · cites it 3× “General Statutes § 54-85a provides: “In any criminal prosecution, the court, upon motion of the state or the defendant, shall cause any witness to be sequestered during the hearing on any issue or motion or any part of the trial of such prosecution in which he is not testifying.”
State of Connecticut v. David N.J., 19 A.3d 646 (Conn. 2011). · cites it 4× “Under Connecticut’s controlling statute; see General Statutes § 54-85a; 25 and a rule of practice; see Practice Book § 42-36; see footnote 18 of this opinion; “the granting of a sequestration order in criminal cases is not discretionary and can be invoked by either party.”
State v. Sherman, 662 A.2d 767 (Conn. App. Ct. 1995). · cites it 4× “At the commencement of trial, at the request of both the defendant and the state, the court entered a sequestration order pursuant to Practice Book § 876 18 and General Statutes § 54-85a. 19 During its case, the defense called Louis Roh, a forensic pathologist, to rebut the…”
State v. Scott, 547 A.2d 77 (Conn. App. Ct. 1988). · cites it 6× “2 The defendant claims' that the trial court erred (1) in denying his motion to suppress the results of a chemical breath test of his blood alcohol level, (2) in denying his motion to dismiss based on an alleged violation of the trial court’s sequestration order depriving the…”
Moye v. Comm'r of Corr., 145 A.3d 362 (Conn. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 2× “Pursuant to General Statutes § 54-85a, "[i]n any criminal prosecution, the court, upon motion of the state or the defendant, shall cause any witness to be sequestered during the hearing on any *372 issue or motion or any part of the trial of such prosecution in which he is not…”
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