High-Profile Attorney Darnell D. Crosland Files Blistering Motion to Dismiss Criminal Contempt Charges Against Michelle Troconis
- teamsisters74
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
April 15, 2025
STAMFORD, CT — In a decisive move that challenges the very foundation of the prosecution's case, renowned trial attorney Darnell D. Crosland has filed a motion to dismiss the criminal contempt charges brought against his client, Michelle Troconis. The motion—described as "blistering" in its tone and content—argues that the State of Connecticut has failed to allege even the most basic and essential element required under the criminal contempt statute: willfulness.
Troconis is charged with two counts of criminal contempt under Connecticut General Statutes § 51-33a, based on allegations that she possessed and publicly displayed a sealed family evaluation report during her highly publicized criminal trial. But Crosland’s filing pulls no punches, contending that the arrest warrant and supporting information “reveal, even if true, that the alleged display was neither intentional nor disruptive.”
“This is a criminal contempt case with no contemptuous conduct,” Crosland stated. “No court admonition was disobeyed, no judicial authority was disrupted, and no willful act was committed by Ms. Troconis. The arrest affidavit itself describes a third-party cameraman briefly zooming in on her laptop—an event entirely outside her control.”
The motion cites In re Dodson, 214 Conn. 344 (1990), emphasizing that for criminal contempt to be viable, the conduct must “immediately imperil” the dignity and authority of the court—not merely raise a hypothetical concern.
Troconis’s defense team has demanded the charges be dismissed calling the State’s Information “fatally defective” for failing to allege the necessary mental state.
“This prosecution,” Crosland added, “not only stretches the contempt statute beyond recognition—it seeks to criminalize conduct that wasn’t even Ms. Troconis’s doing.”
The Motion to Dismiss will be heard at the next court date on April 21, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. For media inquiries, please contact: CROSLANDLAWGROUP LLC 1200 Summer Street, Suite 202 | Stamford, CT 06905 | info@croslandlaw.com | (203) 921-1782
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