Copas v. Warden, State Prison, No. Cv-87-401 (Mar. 16, 1992)

1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 2384, 7 Conn. Super. Ct. 432
CourtConnecticut Superior Court
DecidedMarch 16, 1992
DocketNo. CV-87-401
StatusUnpublished

This text of 1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 2384 (Copas v. Warden, State Prison, No. Cv-87-401 (Mar. 16, 1992)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Copas v. Warden, State Prison, No. Cv-87-401 (Mar. 16, 1992), 1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 2384, 7 Conn. Super. Ct. 432 (Colo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This case is unpublished as indicated by the issuing court.] MEMORANDUM OF DECISION The petitioner claims that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney, Jerry Gruenbaum, failed to investigate, discover and present evidence relating to his mental state and because Gruenbaum misrepresented the result of the petitioner's guilty plea and the "range of outcomes possible in the event petitioner did not plead guilty." Finally, the petitioner asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at the sentencing hearing because "Gruenbaum failed to present any evidence pertaining to [Copas's] mental state to the court."

The underlying facts are not in dispute. On April 27, 1986 the body of Laura Bieu, age 16, was found off Hop River Road, an isolated area of Coventry. The body was partially covered by rocks. The victim had been stabbed several times and her head crushed by a rock.

The police conducted a "spot check" surveillance of the area in which the victim was discovered. An older model, four door brown car was stopped. The driver identified himself as David Copas. He stated that he was attempting to use the road as a "shortcut" to Hartford. Hop River Road could not reasonably be considered a short cut. The authorities also noted that the petitioner appeared "nervous". A witness told the troopers that as the petitioner left the area, he looked directly at the stone wall near where the body was found.

Investigation revealed that on April 25, 1986, the petitioner had given a ride to three girls, including the victim. He met them at the Lucky Strike bowling alley in Mansfield. One of the girls accurately described the Copas vehicle. The two surviving girls stated that they had been dropped off by the petitioner at 11:30 P.M. at one of their CT Page 2385 homes in Ashford and that the victim left with the petitioner at about midnight to be dropped off at her grandparents' house.

Police officers were told by another witness that while she and three friends were riding recreational vehicles down Hop River Road at approximately 2:20 a.m. on April 26, 1986 she observed a vehicle similar to the petitioner's in the middle of the road. A man whose appearance was consistent with Copas's was standing in front of the car. She and her friends continued riding and when she returned to Hop River Road forty-five minutes later, the man was still in the area. Officers brought the witness to Hop River Road and she pointed to the spot where she observed the car. This site was where the victims body was discovered.

Based upon the foregoing information search warrants were obtained for the petitioner's person, car, and home. Officers arrived with the warrants at the Copas residence about 10:00 p.m. on April 29th. No one was home, but a note on the door indicated that the petitioner could be found at the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley. Police paged Copas causing two of his friends to present themselves. One man was the brother of the petitioner's wife. The two men gave a note to the officers signed by a Phillip "Frenchy" Tardif, another friend of the petitioner. This note indicated that Tardif had picked up the petitioner in the early morning of April 26, 1986 on Route 6 and assisted him with car trouble near where Bieu's body was found. The men then informed the police that the petitioner was at Windham Hospital where Copas had taken his wife's infant son.

Officers located the petitioner, conducted a brief search of his person, seized his leather jacket and a knife and then read a rights form to him. They transported him to the Coventry Police Department.

Copas was permitted to use a telephone to contact an attorney. He indicated that he wished to speak to his wife before contacting an attorney. A short while later Cathy Copas, his wife, arrived. Mrs. Copas asked to speak with the petitioner alone and she and the petitioner were left alone in the office of Human Services at the Coventry Town Hall. The officers could observe both people through a glass door, however, the petitioner embraced his wife, spoke to her and she cried out "Oh, why!"

About an hour later, the petitioner told Detective Malchik that he would like to talk to him but wanted his wife present. Copas's statement was made in the presence of Cathy CT Page 2386 Copas and Detective Pelkey. Detective Malchik read the petitioner his rights for the second time. The petitioner signed the waiver form. He told the police repeatedly that he no longer wished to contact a lawyer.

Copas gave a verbal statement which was recorded on tape. Detective Malchik also prepared a written statement for the petitioner's signature. It set forth in some detail, Copas's version of the events that occurred the night of April 25th and the early morning hours of the 26th. Several of the details were corroborated by police investigation. Among the details recited in the confession was the petitioner's claim that he and the victim abused marijuana that night. Copas was arrested on May 1, 1986 and charged with murder in violation of Section 53a-54a of the Connecticut General Statutes.1 On or about May 2, 1986, Attorney Jerry Gruenbaum became involved in the defense of the petitioner.2

On June 11, 1986, Attorney Gruenbaum filed a "Motion for Discovery" and "Notice" of the defendant's intent to introduce expert testimony relating to the existence of a mental disease or defect. On June 12, he filed a "Motion To Suppress" the defendant's confession claiming same was not voluntarily made nor made with the assistance of counsel. The Motion was never argued. Because the prosecution had an "open-file" policy allowing defense counsel access to the state's file, Gruenbaum did not pursue the Motion for Discovery. According to trial counsel, he never requested an independent psychiatric examination because he did not feel that any psychiatrically oriented defenses applied. Mr. Gruenbaum testified that he examined Copas's school records. He also claimed to have talked by telephone to a psychiatrist with whom the petitioner had contact while he was incarcerated at the Brooklyn Correctional facility.

The evidence adduced at the habeas corpus hearing indicated that during his childhood the petitioner had an attention deficit disorder impacting negatively on his school performance and for which he had been prescribed Ritalin. Apparently the petitioner's self esteem was so adversely affected that he failed both academically and socially. Dr. Kenneth Selig, a specialist in adult and forensic psychiatry, testified that the petitioner, from his childhood on, periodically had difficulty controlling his impulses. The problem, according to Dr. Selig, was aggravated when Copas consumed drugs and/or alcohol. It was further aggravated by stress. Dr. Selig diagnosed Copas as having exhibited alcohol abuse, marijuana abuse, an atypical impulse disorder and a mixed personality disorder with paranoid narcissistic and CT Page 2387 anti-social features. His opinion was that the petitioner suffered from these disorders in April, 1986 and that said ailments "acted to diminish his capacity to control his behavior".

Although he had filed a notice to the state respecting a defense based upon mental disease or defect, Attorney Gruenbaum was unable to define "extreme emotional disturbance". He was unable to set forth the elements of the crime of murder.

It became apparent that trial counsel, at best, was confused about presenting an affirmative defense based upon mental disease or defect.

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Bluebook (online)
1992 Conn. Super. Ct. 2384, 7 Conn. Super. Ct. 432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/copas-v-warden-state-prison-no-cv-87-401-mar-16-1992-connsuperct-1992.