The mission of the Connecticut Judicial Branch is to serve the interests of justice and the public by resolving matters brought before it in a fair, timely, efficient and open manner.

Criminal Law Appellate Court Opinions

by Booth, George

 

AC41793 - State v. Stephanie U. (Operating motor vehicle while under influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs; operating motor vehicle while operator's license was suspended; attempt to commit risk of injury to child; "The defendant, Stephanie U., appeals from the judgment of conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a (a) (1), operating a motor vehicle while her operator's license was under suspension in violation of General Statutes § 14-215 (a), and attempt to commit risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes §§ 53-21 (a) (1) and 53a-49 (a) (2). On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the prosecutor violated her state constitutional rights to confront witnesses against her and to testify on her own behalf by improperly attacking her credibility during cross-examination and in her closing rebuttal argument by suggesting that she had tailored her testimony to conform to the evidence she had overheard during her trial, (2) the prosecutor denied her due process of law under both the federal and state constitutions when, during cross-examination, the prosecutor asked the defendant whether she had an interest in the outcome of the trial, and when, during rebuttal argument, the prosecutor told the jury that it could consider the defendant's vested interest in the outcome of the trial, (3) prosecutorial impropriety deprived her of a fair trial when the prosecutor argued that she had tailored her testimony and that she had a motive to lie, (4) this court, in the alternative, should order a new trial after we employ our supervisory authority to prohibit questions and arguments that amount to generic tailoring and/or telling or implying to the jury that it can or should discredit the defendant's trial testimony because she has an "interest in the outcome" of her trial, and (5) her conviction of attempt to commit risk of injury to a child should be vacated because it is not a cognizable crime. We reject the defendant's claims, although we agree with her request to exercise our supervisory authority over the administration of justice on the issue of generic tailoring. Nevertheless, because we conclude that the prospective rules we articulate regarding generic tailoring would not have changed the outcome of the defendant's trial, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC43117 - State v. Gamble (Motion to correct illegal sentence; manslaughter in first degree with firearm; "For a trial court to have jurisdiction over a defendant's motion to correct an alleged illegal sentence, the defendant must raise "a colorable claim within the scope of Practice Book § 43-22 that would, if the merits of the claim were reached and decided in the defendant's favor, require correction of a sentence. . . . In the absence of a colorable claim requiring correction, the trial court has no jurisdiction to modify the sentence." (Footnote added; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Evans, 329 Conn. 770, 783, 189 A.3d 1184 (2018), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 139 S. Ct. 1304, 203 L. Ed. 2d 425 (2019). "A colorable claim is one that is superficially well founded but that may ultimately be deemed invalid. . . . For a claim to be colorable, the defendant need not convince the trial court that he necessarily will prevail, he must demonstrate simply that he might prevail. . . . The jurisdictional and merits inquiries are separate, whether the defendant ultimately succeeds on the merits of his claim does not affect the trial court's jurisdiction to hear it." (Citations omitted; emphasis omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 784.

In the present case, the self-represented defendant, Hudel Clifton Gamble, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his motion to correct an alleged illegal sentence (motion to correct) for lack of jurisdiction. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly dismissed the motion to correct because it advanced a colorable claim that his sentence on the underlying conviction of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm was illegally enhanced on the basis of a fact not found by the jury. The state counters that the court properly dismissed the defendant's motion to correct because it challenges his underlying conviction, not the legality of his sentence. We agree with the state and, therefore, affirm the judgment of the trial court.")