State v. Cooper

514 A.2d 758, 9 Conn. App. 15, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1122
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedSeptember 2, 1986
Docket3188
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 514 A.2d 758 (State v. Cooper) 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. Cooper, 514 A.2d 758, 9 Conn. App. 15, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1122 (Colo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Borden, J.

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction, after a trial to the court, of disorderly conduct in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1981) § 53a-182, possession of a controlled substance in violation of General Statutes § 19-481 (c), and four counts of bribery in violation of General Statutes § 53a-147. The defendant claims that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to a warrantless search and by proceeding in his absence on the second day of trial. The principal issues are (1) whether the warrantless search of the defendant’s coat, located in the trunk of his friend’s car, was valid, and (2) whether the exclusionary rule bars the use of illegally seized evidence which the defendant later used to commit bribery of the police officers involved in the invalid search.

The conviction for disorderly conduct resulted from a disturbance which the defendant caused at the apartment of his former girlfriend on the evening of February 16, 1982. The conviction for possession of a controlled substance resulted from a subsequent search of the defendant’s coat which occurred when the police arrested him later that same evening on the charge of disorderly conduct. That search yielded $4900 in cash and a quantity [17]*17of marihuana. The conviction on the bribery charge resulted from the suggestions by the defendant, at the scene of the arrest and at the police station, to four police officers that they take the cash for themselves and dispose of the marihuana.

I

We first address the defendant’s claim that the court erred by proceeding with the trial in his absence. Although the defendant did not raise this claim in the trial court, our Supreme Court has held that such a claim is reviewable under State v. Evans, 165 Conn. 61, 327 A.2d 576 (1973). State v. Simino, 200 Conn. 113, 124-25, 509 A.2d 1039 (1986). We therefore review the defendant’s claim, but find it to be without merit.

The court trial began in Manchester on December 16, 1983. At the end of the first day, in the presence of the defendant, the court continued the trial until 2 p.m. on December 20,1983. At 2:30 p.m. on December 20, 1983, the defendant had not arrived in court. His counsel stated to the court that the defendant had been required to appear in the federal court in Bridgeport that morning but that he had been released at noon. His counsel further stated that he had no explanation for the defendant’s absence and that “I’m ready to proceed without him.” The court ordered the trial to proceed. After the state called three additional witnesses, it rested. The defendant’s counsel presented one witness. The court then continued the case to 2 p.m. the next day. When the trial resumed the next day, the defendant was present. He neither offered an explanation for his absence nor took any action to express dissatisfaction with the court’s earlier decision to proceed in his absence. He called three additional witnesses and then rested. It is quite clear from this record that the court was correct in its determination that the defendant effectively waived his right to be present at [18]*18a part of his trial by his unexcused and unexplained absence. State v. Simino, supra, 126-32; see also State v. Lineberry, 7 Conn. App. 532, 536, 509 A.2d 84 (1986).

This claim of the defendant, which we have rejected, is the only claim which implicates the conviction of disorderly conduct. We therefore find no error as to that conviction.

II

We next address the defendant’s claim that the court should have granted his motion to suppress as evidence the cash and marihuana seized from his coat. We conclude that the court did err by denying this motion, but that this was error only with respect to the charge of possession of a controlled substance, and was not error with respect to the four bribery charges. We make this distinction because of our further conclusion that to suppress the evidence as to the bribery charges would exceed the proper limits of the exclusionary rule. See part III, infra.

On the basis of the evidence presented at the suppression hearing, the trial court found the following facts: In the early evening hours of February 16,1982, Thomas Therian loaned his automobile to a friend, Diana Rutigliano, who drove it, with the defendant as a passenger, to one or more bars in East Hartford. While at the Bootlegger’s Cafe, Rutigliano gave the defendant the key to the trunk of the car and he placed his overcoat in the trunk, which he then locked. Later that evening, Rutigliano and the defendant returned to Therian’s apartment in East Hartford. Shortly thereafter, the defendant visited his former girlfriend, Christine Governale, who resided in an apartment in the same building as Therian. The defendant threatened Governale with bodily harm and then left the area with Therian in Therian’s car.

[19]*19Meanwhile, Governale contacted the East Hartford police department and Officer Joseph Albuquerque investigated the complaint at her home. Governale told Albuquerque that the defendant threatened her, that he might have a gun in his possession and that he may have been involved in drug activity that evening. Governale had known the defendant for six years and she has a child by him. Albuquerque conveyed this information to police headquarters along with a description of the automobile in which the defendant was riding.

The arresting officer heard the radio dispatch from headquarters indicating that the defendant was wanted on the charge of disorderly conduct. The radio dispatch included a description of Therian’s automobile and instructions to check the car for weapons or drugs. Acting on this information, the arresting officer stopped and searched Therian’s automobile. The defendant was then a passenger. During the search, the officer located $4900 in cash and a quantity of marihuana in the inside pocket of the defendant’s coat, which was in the trunk of the automobile. These items were seized and it was these items which the defendant sought to suppress.

The trial court further found that the defendant had no possessory or proprietary interest in the automobile in that he did not own it and it was not loaned to him. The defendant did not have the owner’s permission to place anything in the trunk of the car, did not have control over the automobile and had no right to exclude anyone from the area searched. The court also found that the defendant felt that the money and the package containing contraband would be secure in the trunk of the automobile. Further, the court found that the defendant acknowledged a property interest in those items.

On the basis of these factual findings, the court concluded that the arresting officer had probable cause to [20]*20stop the automobile and to arrest the defendant.1 The court found that the defendant had not established a violation of his legitimate expectation of privacy so as to afford him the protection of the fourth amendment. The court also concluded that the search of Therian’s automobile was based on probable cause and was consistent with the criteria set forth in United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S. Ct. 2157, 72 L. Ed. 2d 572 (1982).

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Bluebook (online)
514 A.2d 758, 9 Conn. App. 15, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1122, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cooper-connappct-1986.