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 Supreme Court Opinion

by Townsend, Karen

 

SC20452 - State v. Robles (Murder; criminal possession of a firearm; illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle ; “The defendant elected a jury trial on the murder charge and a bench trial on the charges of criminal possession of a firearm and possessing a weapon in a motor vehicle. The jury found the defendant not guilty of murder but guilty of the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-55a. After the bench trial, the court found the defendant guilty of both criminal possession of a firearm and possessing a weapon in a motor vehicle…On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the trial court violated his right to confront the witnesses against him under the sixth amendment to the United States constitution4 by allowing Chief Medical Examiner James Gill to testify about the results of the victim’s autopsy, which he had not performed himself, and (2) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of possessing a weapon in a motor vehicle. We disagree with the defendant’s first claim and affirm the trial court’s judgment as to the conviction of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm. With respect to the defendant’s second claim, we agree that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of possessing a weapon in a motor vehicle and, therefore, reverse the trial court’s judgment as to that conviction.”)