State v. Gould

142 A.3d 253, 322 Conn. 519, 2016 Conn. LEXIS 238
Supreme Court of Connecticut·Decided August 16, 2016·No. SC19471·Published·Cited by 8 cases

Opinions

McDONALD, J.

The dispositive issue in this certified appeal is whether a trial court's purportedly improper exclusion of a prospective juror for cause on the ground that he was "not able to speak and understand the English language" within the meaning of General Statutes § 51-217(a)(3) constitutes per se reversible error. The defendant, Jeffrey P. Gould, appeals from the judgment of the Appellate Court affirming the trial court's judgment of conviction, in light of its conclusion that the trial court's improper exclusion of a venireperson on this basis was not prejudicial. The defendant contends that, because the assessment of the English language skills and accents of nonnative speakers may reflect implicit or unconscious bias relating to ancestry or national origin, the improper exclusion of a prospective juror on the basis of such factors should be deemed commensurate with the improper exclusion of a prospective juror on the basis of a suspect classification, which is subject to automatic reversal. We conclude that the Appellate Court properly determined that the trial court's excusal of the prospective juror for cause under § 51-217(a)(3) was subject to reversal only upon a showing of prejudice.

The record reveals the following undisputed facts. The defendant was brought to trial on a charge of sexual assault in the first degree. During voir dire, an issue arose regarding the English proficiency of venireperson E, 1 whose juror application revealed a Hispanic surname and listed his ethnicity as Puerto Rican. 2 After E answered several preliminary questions, which revealed, among other things, that he had attended college before being employed as a machinist, the following colloquy ensued:

"[The Prosecutor]: Have you or anyone close to you ever been a victim of a crime?
"[E]: Yes.
"[The Prosecutor]: And are you comfortable telling me a little bit about that?
"[E]: Well, kind of-do you want to hear?
"[The Prosecutor]: If you're comfortable telling me, yeah, sure.
"[E]: Oh well, one time we are stopped by the police and they confused me by another person, and they like put something on me.
"[The Prosecutor]: A guy came and pulled something on you?
"[E]: Yes, kind of like that.
"[The Prosecutor]: Okay, and what did he pull on you?
"[E]: I think it was-there was after him one person and because he cannot get to that person, so he get close to me and reached to my pocket without me knowing because I was sitting down. So, when the police came, that guy told me, hey this guy put something on you. That's it.
"[The Prosecutor]: Okay.
"The Court: If I can just interrupt for a moment? [Sir], English is not your first language is it?
"[E]: No.
"The Court: Do you have any difficulty understanding English?
"[E]: No.
"The Court: No?
"[E]: No, I understand very well.
"The Court: Okay, and you understood everything I said initially when I was talking to the audience out there when you were in the gallery; did you understand- "[E]: Most of it, yeah, most of it.
"The Court: It's the most of it part that I'm a little worried about, which is why I asked and I apologize. It's important that you understand everything, because I never know-we never know beforehand what's going to be the most important part of the trial. I mean it's all important, so it's important that you understand everything that's said. Do you feel like you'll be able to understand everything that's said in the courtroom?
"[E]: I think so.
"The Court: Okay, you don't anticipate any problems understanding what people are saying?
"[E]: No, no, in fact I understand what's your point. I got a big accent.
"The Court: Okay.
"[E]: That when I talk, I know sometimes they tell me-
"The Court: No, no, I understand-I just want to-whenever anybody talks to me in an accent and it's not just Spanish, I often inquire whether they can understand English well enough to be a juror. So you're comfortable doing that and that's fine.
"[E]: Yes, yes."

After a further exchange with the prosecutor, E clarified that he was charged with a drug crime in connection with the incident in which a "guy put something on [him]," explaining that "the police say that they see me throwing something out of my body and they put charges on me." E acknowledged that he had failed to disclose the charges related to that incident on his juror questionnaire.

Defense counsel also questioned E about his ability to understand English:

"[Defense Counsel]: Okay. I know the judge touched on this a little bit, but is English your first language or not?
"[E]: No, Spanish.
"[Defense Counsel]: But you understand everything I said?
"[E]: Yes, of course."

After the voir dire of E concluded, the state challenged him for cause, claiming that "a good number of [E's] answers were not actually responsive to the questions that were being asked." In addition, the state asserted that E had failed to provide a full accounting of his criminal record on his juror questionnaire, suggesting that he either did not understand the form or intentionally had failed to disclose his criminal history, the latter of which would independently warrant disqualification. Defense counsel objected, citing, inter alia, E's college background and E's assurances that he understands English fully.

The trial court responded: "Here's the problem I have.... I don't think [E] can communicate with the other members of the jury. I had an extremely hard time understanding his answers. And while he may understand the language because he certainly said he did, I have real concerns about in a jury room whether he's going to be able to fully participate with the other members of the jury in their deliberations for a verdict because he's extremely difficult to understand. There were times-numerous times where I did not understand what [E] was saying, and I think it's related to English not being his first language. I mean I think he's-I've no reason to believe intellectually he's not capable, but I think the language barrier is a substantial one."

Defense counsel argued that he had understood everything E said, "other than ... his mumbling," to which the trial judge responded, "[w]hich was often.... That's part of my point." Thereafter, the court ruled that it would excuse E for cause based on its view that "he has a significant language barrier that will prevent him from fully participating as a juror in this case."

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State v. Gould, 142 A.3d 253, 322 Conn. 519, 2016 Conn. LEXIS 238 (Colo. 2016).

142 A.3d 253 (State v. Gould) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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