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Criminal Law Supreme Court Opinion

by Booth, George

 

SC19788 - State v. Daniel B. (Attempt to commit murder; certification from Appellate Court; sufficiency of evidence; "The present appeal requires us to consider whether, in determining the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction for attempt to commit murder under the substantial step provision of General Statutes § 53a-49 (a) (2), the proper inquiry should focus on what the actor had already done or on what the actor had left to do to complete the crime of murder. In the present case, the jury found the defendant, Daniel B., guilty of attempt to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-54a and 53a-49 (a) (2). Following our grant of certification, the defendant appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court affirming the judgment of conviction. See State v. Daniel B., 164 Conn. App. 318, 354, 137 A.3d 837 (2016). The defendant claims that, in concluding that the evidence was sufficient, the Appellate Court improperly construed § 53a-49 (a) (2) to require the substantial step inquiry to focus on "what [the actor] has already done," rather than what "remains to be done . . . ." Id., 332. The state responds that the Appellate Court properly held that the focus is on what the actor has already done and that, when considering the defendant's conduct in the present case, the Appellate Court properly concluded that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the defendant's conviction of attempted murder. See id., 333. We conclude that the determination of what conduct constitutes a substantial step under § 53a-49 (a) (2) focuses on what the actor has already done rather than on what the actor has left to do to complete the substantive crime. We therefore affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.")