State v. Goodman

646 A.2d 879, 35 Conn. App. 438, 1994 Conn. App. LEXIS 312
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 16, 1994
Docket12271
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 646 A.2d 879 (State v. Goodman) 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. Goodman, 646 A.2d 879, 35 Conn. App. 438, 1994 Conn. App. LEXIS 312 (Colo. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

Foti, J.

The defendant appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-55 (a) (l),1 as a lesser included offense of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a. The [440]*440defendant claims that the trial court improperly (1) instructed the jury on the reasonable doubt standard and (2) refused to allow potential verdicts to be announced as partial verdicts. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On the evening of May 25, 1991, the defendant observed his wife getting out of the victim’s car. After hitting his wife in the face, he approached the victim, who was still seated in the driver’s seat of his automobile, opened the driver’s door, pulled out a knife with a three and one-half inch cutting blade from his pocket and stabbed the victim several times in the legs and chest. The victim begged not to be killed, and tried to avoid the attack by moving to the passenger side of the car. He also attempted to ward off the defendant by kicking him. The defendant grabbed the victim’s feet and pulled him out of the car and onto the ground. After being told by a bystander to leave the victim alone, the defendant folded up the knife, put it in his pocket and left the scene. The victim had multiple stab wounds to the chest, left arm and left leg. He died as a result of a four and three-quarter inch deep stab wound to the chest.

I

The defendant first claims that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on reasonable doubt. The court instructed the jury that a reasonable doubt is “a doubt for which a reasonable person can give a valid reason.” The defendant alleges that this instruction violated his constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury.2 He asserts that this instruction amounts to an articu[441]*441lation requirement and as such it reduces or dilutes the state’s burden of proof, or shifts that burden to the defendant.

Before reviewing the merits of the defendant’s first claim, we note that the defendant correctly points out that his challenge to this jury instruction was not “unpreserved.” The defendant’s claim was properly preserved for purposes of appeal, so our inquiry is not limited to whether the instruction infringed on a clear constitutional right, but, instead, we afford the claim complete review.3

The challenged instructions are similar or identical to jury instructions that have previously been approved by our Supreme Court. State v. DePastino, 228 Conn. 552, 572, 638 A.2d 578 (1994) (“a doubt for which a valid reason can be assigned”); State v. Gomez, 225 Conn. 347, 353, 622 A.2d 1014 (1993) (“a doubt for which a reasonable man or woman can give a valid reason”); State v. Adams, 225 Conn. 270, 290, 623 A.2d 42 (1993) (“a doubt for which a valid reason can be assigned”); State v. Derrico, 181 Conn. 151, 171, 434 A.2d 356, cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1064, 101 S. Ct. 789, 66 L. Ed. 2d 607 (1980) (“one for which you can, in your own mind, conscientiously give a reason”); State v. Johnson, 29 Conn. App. 584, 590, 617 A.2d 174 (1992) (“a doubt for which a valid reason may be assigned”), [442]*442appeal dismissed, 228 Conn. 59, 634 A.2d 293 (1993) (certification improvidently granted).

The defendant argues that our Supreme Court “should reconsider its stance on the issue.” This court does not reevaluate Supreme Court decisions; we are bound by those decisions. In re David E., 4 Conn. App. 653, 658, 496 A.2d 229 (1985).

Our Supreme Court has also stated that the same or similar instructions “did not decrease the state’s burden of proof when viewed in the context of the entire charge”; State v. Gomez, supra, 225 Conn. 354; and “did not dilute the defendant’s presumption of innocence.” State v. Adams, supra, 225 Conn. 291; see also State v. Johnson, 214 Conn. 161, 571 A.2d 79 (1990); State v. Thomas, 214 Conn. 118, 570 A.2d 1123 (1990); State v. Lytell, 206 Conn. 657, 539 A.2d 133 (1988); State v. Leecan, 198 Conn. 517, 504 A.2d 480, cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1184, 106 S. Ct. 2922, 91 L. Ed. 2d 550 (1986); State v. Findlay, 198 Conn. 328, 502 A.2d 921, cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1159, 106 S. Ct. 2279, 90 L. Ed. 2d 721 (1986).

The test to be applied when reviewing a challenge to jury instructions is whether the jury charge as a whole presents the case adequately to the jury so that no injustice is done; State v. Lytell, supra, 206 Conn. 664; whether that portion of the charge relating to the concept of reasonable doubt, read as a whole, could properly and sufficiently guide the jury, and fairly present the case to the jury. State v. Derrico, supra, 181 Conn. 171. We view the charge as a whole and consider how the jury was likely to hear it and how the jury was probably affected by it. State v. Ortiz, 217 Conn. 648, 666, 588 A.2d 127 (1991).

We have reviewed the trial court’s total charge on the issue of reasonable doubt and conclude that it was [443]*443both adequate and correct in presenting that legal concept to the jury. The challenged instruction did not compel a juror to explain or in any way articulate to the other jurors any reason for his or her doubt. The focus in the instruction was on reasons formulated by jurors through the use of their own rational thought processes.4 An articulation requirement is not created by an instruction that focuses on a reason for a doubt arrived at in the juror’s own mind; instead, an articulation requirement would require the juror to state that reason to other jurors. State v. Campbell, 225 Conn. 650, 666, 626 A.2d 287 (1993). The instruction herein did not require, nor suggest as necessary, that a juror explain to fellow jurors his or her reason for having a reasonable doubt. See State v. Jeffrey, 220 Conn. 698, 719, 601 A.2d 993 (1991), cert. denied, U.S. 112 S. Ct. 3041, 120 L. Ed. 2d 909 (1992). The jury charge as a whole clearly and correctly defined the proof beyond a reasonable doubt standard. The defendant’s constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury have not been violated in this case.

II

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
646 A.2d 879, 35 Conn. App. 438, 1994 Conn. App. LEXIS 312, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-goodman-connappct-1994.