In a case where the “co-conspirator exception” to the hearsay rule played a prominent role, a divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 against a new trial for a defendant sentenced to 55 years in prison for murdering a fellow gang member.

The three dissenting justices wrote in Connecticut v. Ayala that the majority had it wrong. They found the trial court had improperly admitted testimony—under the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule—implicating defendant Vincent Ayala in the murder of Thomas Mozell Jr.