Connecticut Misdemeanor Classes: Penalties, Fines, and Probation

Connecticut sorts misdemeanors into four classes, A through D, plus an unclassified category for offenses that set their own penalties. Class A is the most serious, with a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Class D is the lightest, capped at 30 days and $250. Class B sits at six months and $1,000, Class C at three months and $500.¹² The class determines not just the jail and fine ceilings but also how long probation can run and, in some cases, whether a federal consequence attaches.

Class A Misdemeanors

Class A is the ceiling of misdemeanor sentencing in Connecticut: up to one year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.¹² That full year of exposure sits one step below a felony, and judges treat these cases accordingly.

Third-degree assault is one of the most commonly charged Class A offenses. It covers intentionally causing physical injury, recklessly causing serious physical injury, or using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument to injure someone through criminal negligence. When the conviction involves criminal negligence with a deadly weapon, the court must impose the full one-year sentence with no suspension or reduction.³ A mandatory minimum on a misdemeanor is unusual and catches many defendants off guard.

Fourth-degree sexual assault is also a Class A misdemeanor, though it escalates to a Class D felony when the victim is under sixteen. Fourth-degree larceny, which sounds minor because of the number, is a Class A as well.⁴ Don’t read seriousness off the degree number. Check the class the statute assigns.

Class B Misdemeanors

Class B misdemeanors carry up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.¹² Half the incarceration exposure of a Class A, but enough to upend a job, a lease, or a custody arrangement.

Second-degree breach of peace is one of the most frequently prosecuted Class B offenses. It reaches fighting or threatening behavior in public, striking someone, making criminal threats, or using obscene language in a public place.⁵ Third-degree criminal mischief, which involves intentionally or recklessly damaging someone else’s property, is another common Class B charge.⁶ Second-degree criminal trespass also sits here.

Judges handling Class B cases weigh the specifics heavily. A shouting match at a bar that barely crosses into breach-of-peace territory may draw probation, while a case with property damage and a prior record is more likely to push toward the six-month cap.

Class C Misdemeanors

Class C misdemeanors cap at three months in jail and a $500 fine.¹² These move through the system faster than higher-class offenses, but a conviction still leaves a criminal record.

Disorderly conduct is the signature Class C offense.⁷ It usually involves disruptive behavior that falls short of the threats or physical contact that would make it a breach of peace. Third-degree criminal trespass, when it doesn’t involve poaching, also falls here. Prosecutors in Class C cases look closely at prior history; a first disorderly conduct arrest often resolves with a diversionary program or probation rather than the full 90 days.

Class D Misdemeanors

Class D is the lowest rung of the classified system, with a maximum of 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.¹² The category is narrow. Few offenses in the Connecticut penal code land here, because most minor conduct either falls into Class C or gets handled as an infraction or violation instead.

One example is using cannabis as a passenger in a motor vehicle. While 30 days is the statutory ceiling, many Class D defendants receive community service, a conditional discharge, or a fine rather than jail time. The conviction itself may be the bigger concern, because even a minor criminal record surfaces on background checks.

Unclassified Misdemeanors

Not every misdemeanor fits the A-through-D grid. When a Connecticut statute defines an offense and sets its own unique penalty rather than pointing to one of the four standard classes, the result is an unclassified misdemeanor.⁸ The jail term and fine come from whatever statute created the offense, not from the general sentencing provisions.¹

Most unclassified misdemeanors live in the motor vehicle code. Operating a vehicle while your license is suspended for an alcohol-related offense carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days, a maximum of one year, and fines between $500 and $1,000. Driving without a valid license carries up to 30 days and fines between $250 and $350. Neither matches any standard class.

That means you can’t learn a charge is an “unclassified misdemeanor” and know anything about the penalty range until you read the specific statute. Some carry heavier consequences than a Class A; others are lighter than Class D.

Probation and Conditional Discharge by Class

Jail time and fines aren’t the only tools in a sentence. Connecticut courts routinely add probation or conditional discharge, and the maximum supervision period tracks the class:⁹

Class A: up to two years, or up to three years at the court’s discretion
Class B: up to one year, or up to two years at the court’s discretion
Class C or D: up to one year
Unclassified: up to one year if the maximum jail sentence is six months or less; up to two years if the maximum exceeds six months

Conditional discharge works differently from probation. The court releases you subject to conditions it sets, but you are not assigned a probation officer or placed under active supervision. Violating a condition of either probation or conditional discharge sends you back to court to face the original sentence. For a Class A conviction, that can mean two to three years of supervision, drug testing, and travel restrictions long after any jail time would have ended. For many people, the probation tail is the real punishment.

Court Costs and Surcharges on Top of the Fine

The fine amounts above are not the only financial hit. A misdemeanor conviction triggers a mandatory $15 court cost on top of whatever fine the judge imposes. Convictions for sexual assault offenses carry an additional $151 surcharge that funds the state’s sexual assault victim services.¹⁰ Depending on the case, the court may also order restitution to the victim, calculated separately from the statutory fine.

Federal Consequences a Connecticut Misdemeanor Can Trigger

Two federal consequences can follow a Connecticut misdemeanor and land harder than the state sentence itself.

The first is firearms. Under federal law, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is permanently prohibited from possessing, buying, or receiving a firearm or ammunition.¹¹ This applies whether the state classified the offense as Class D or Class A. It also applies even if the conviction is later erased under Connecticut’s Clean Slate law, because federal law operates independently. Anyone who owns firearms and faces a domestic violence charge at any misdemeanor level needs to understand this before entering a plea.

The second is immigration. A misdemeanor conviction classified as a “crime involving moral turpitude” under federal immigration law can make a noncitizen deportable or inadmissible. A single conviction with a potential sentence of one year or more, committed within five years of admission to the United States, is enough to trigger deportation proceedings. Two or more such convictions at any time after admission can do the same. Whether a particular Connecticut misdemeanor qualifies turns on federal caselaw, not the state’s class letter, so a noncitizen facing any misdemeanor charge should consult an immigration attorney before resolving the case.

1
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-36 – Imprisonment for Misdemeanor
2
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-42 – Fines for Misdemeanors
3
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-61 – Assault in the Third Degree Class A Misdemeanor
4
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-125 – Larceny in the Fourth Degree Class A Misdemeanor
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Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-181 – Breach of the Peace in the Second Degree Class B Misdemeanor
6
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 952 – Penal Code Offenses – Section 53a-117
7
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-182 – Disorderly Conduct
8
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-26 – Misdemeanor Definition, Classification, Designation
9
Justia. Connecticut Code 53a-29 – Probation and Conditional Discharge Criteria, Periods, Continuation or Termination
10
Connecticut General Assembly. Chapter 962 – Costs, Fees and Expenses in Criminal Proceedings or Prosecutions
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts