State v. Coleman

675 A.2d 887, 41 Conn. App. 255, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 223
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMay 7, 1996
Docket12812
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 675 A.2d 887 (State v. Coleman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Coleman, 675 A.2d 887, 41 Conn. App. 255, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 223 (Colo. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

SCHALLER, J.

This case is before us following proceedings in the trial court pursuant to our earlier remand of the case. State v. Coleman, 38 Conn. App. 531, 662 A.2d 150, cert. denied, 235 Conn. 906, 665 A.2d 903 (1995). The defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial by the court, of burglary in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-101 (a) (2),2 burglary in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-102 (a),3 unlawful restraint in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-95 (a),4 four counts of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (l),5 and robbery in the third degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-136 (a)6 and 53a-133.7

[258]*258In State v. Coleman, supra, 38 Conn. App. 531, we addressed the defendant’s claim that the destruction of a sex crime kit had deprived the defendant of his right to due process of law under article first, § 8, of the Connecticut constitution. In deciding the defendant’s motion to dismiss following discovery of the destruction of the evidence, the trial court had applied the bad faith test.8 After the trial court’s decision to deny the motion to dismiss, however, our Supreme Court decided that the Asherman9 balancing test must be used in cases involving a claim of violation of due process because of the loss or destruction of physical evidence. State v. Morales, 232 Conn. 707, 657 A.2d 585 (1995). We remanded the case to the trial court to reconsider the defendant’s motion to dismiss. State v. Coleman, supra, 536. On remand, the trial court determined that the defendant’s due process rights had not been violated.

On the basis of the proceedings on remand, the defendant now claims that the trial court (1) improperly violated his right to due process of law by refusing to permit him to introduce evidence in an evidentiary hearing and improperly applied the Asherman balancing test.10 We disagree. Because we disagree, we also address the defendant’s remaining claims on appeal. The defendant claims that the trial court improperly [259]*259(2) denied him a one day continuance, (3) refused to remove the shackles and to state any reason for the use of the shackles, (4) deprived him of due process by convicting him of burglary in the second degree, (5) concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction of burglary in the first degree, (6) violated his right not to be placed in double jeopardy, (7) concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction of unlawful restraint in the first degree, (8) deprived him of due process when it vindictively sentenced him to 110 years in prison, and (9) violated his right not to be subject to cruel and unusual punishment. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

In State v. Coleman, supra, 38 Conn. App. 533-34, we set forth the following facts. “On August 12, 1986, the defendant was arraigned on seven charges stemming from a burglary, robbery and repeated sexual assaults that occurred in the early morning of March 4, 1986. An agreement was reached in which the defendant pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine11 to the charges, as well as to charges from eight other files. Prior to sentencing, the defendant sought to withdraw all of his pleas. The trial court allowed the defendant to withdraw his plea on one count from another file, but denied his motion to withdraw his pleas in this case. The defendant was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison on all charges from all nine files.

“On appeal, we affirmed the trial court’s refusal to allow the defendant to withdraw his plea. State v. Coleman, 17 Conn. App. 307, 552 A.2d 442 (1989). Subsequently, the defendant filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in federal court claiming that his plea canvass was defective. The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut vacated the defendant’s pleas and remanded the matter for trial. After that decision, [260]*260on February 19,1992, the New Haven police department destroyed several pieces of evidence from the case. The destruction of that evidence was carried out pursuant to a court order dated June 6, 1990. A sex crime kit, which was not included on the list was erroneously destroyed. The kit contained physical evidence pertinent to the sexual assault. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit subsequently affirmed the decision of the District Court.

“After pleading not guilty to all counts, the defendant elected to be tried by the court. The defendant requested that the sex crime kit be made available for [deoxyribonucleic acid] DNA testing. When the state revealed that the kit had been erroneously destroyed, the defendant moved to suppress any test results and information regarding the testing of items in the kit, and to dismiss the charges on the basis of the state’s destruction of potentially exculpatory physical evidence. The motions were denied. The trial court found the defendant guilty on seven of the eight counts as charged. On the other count, the court found the defendant guilty of the lesser included offense of burglary in the second degree. The defendant received an effective sentence of 110 years in prison.” State v. Coleman, supra, 38 Conn. App. 533-34.

The trial court found the following additional facts. The victim resided alone in a New Haven apartment. During the early morning of March 4, 1986, she was asleep with her glasses on and wearing a nightgown. Between 3:30 and 4 a.m., the defendant used a sharp cutting tool to remove a pane of glass from one of the victim’s bedroom windows and entered her apartment. The victim awoke with the defendant straddling her. The defendant held his hand over the victim’s mouth and told her not to move if she did not want to get hurt. The defendant told her to take off her glasses and she did so. The defendant forced her to commit fellatio [261]*261as he stood next to her bed and also forced her to engage in vaginal intercourse.

The defendant then demanded the victim’s money. She had cashed her paycheck the previous day and had separated the money into envelopes, each marked for the purpose of paying various bills. The defendant ordered the victim to take the money from the envelopes and she did so. The victim estimated that she had between $500 and $600. The defendant went through the envelopes and moved them about on the bed. The defendant asked the victim if she had any jewels or furs, and she replied in the negative. The defendant also asked her if she had a car, and she replied that she had a Datsun; he said he did not want the car.

The defendant then ordered the victim to get on her hands and knees on the bed, and he engaged in anal intercourse. He also forced her to engage again in fellatio. Before leaving, the defendant forced the victim onto her stomach and tied her up with shoelaces that he had brought with him. The defendant cut the victim’s telephone wires inside the apartment and left through a window and down a fire escape.

After waiting a short time to be certain that the defendant was gone, the victim freed herself.

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Bluebook (online)
675 A.2d 887, 41 Conn. App. 255, 1996 Conn. App. LEXIS 223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-coleman-connappct-1996.