State v. Jaynes

650 A.2d 1261, 36 Conn. App. 417, 1994 Conn. App. LEXIS 434, 1994 WL 705443
Connecticut Appellate Court·Decided December 20, 1994·No. 13076·Published·Cited by 20 cases

Opinion

O’Connell, J.

The defendant appeals1 from the judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a (a).2 The defendant claims that (1) the trial court and the state’s attorney improperly denied him access to exculpatory material, (2) the trial court improperly admitted identification testimony into evidence, (3) the trial court improperly instructed the jury on intent to kill, and (4) the trial court improperly failed to conduct a hearing as to whether a juror felt pressured. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

[419] The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. Early in the morning of February 23,1989, the victim, Eugene Deis, and Pamela Teague were seeking to purchase cocaine in New Haven. Deis was driving his car and Teague was in the front passenger seat. On Southwest Drive near its intersection with Dixwell Avenue, they were flagged down by two drug runners, Michael Little and Nessie Jacobs.

Deis told the runners what he wanted, and they relayed the order to Reggie Cash. Cash was nearby with drugs that he had previously received from the defendant. Cash and Little approached Deis’ car to complete the transaction. As Cash handed Deis the cocaine, Deis started the car, giving the impression that he intended to drive away without paying. Cash and Little reached into the car and grabbed the victim, preventing him from leaving.

Teague got out of the car and went toward the intersection looking for a telephone or a police officer. Finding neither, she stood on the sidewalk and watched the struggle. She saw Jacobs and the defendant approach the car. The defendant pulled a handgun, fired into the car and hit Deis, who died within minutes.

Jacqueline Ellis, who had known the defendant for many years, also witnessed the incident. She saw the defendant, with a handgun, walk over to the victim’s car. She then heard a shot. Little also saw the defendant reach into the car with a gun and then heard a shot. Cash and Jacobs both heard the shot but neither saw who fired the gun.

The defendant testified that he saw an unidentified male run up to Deis’ car, fire one shot and run away. No one else saw this man. Additional facts are included in our analysis of the issues.

[420] I

The defendant first claims that the state’s attorney and the trial court denied him access to discoverable exculpatory material in violation of his constitutional rights to due process, to present a defense and to the assistance of counsel.

The state police forensic laboratory analyzed the bullet taken from the victim’s body and concluded that it came from the same gun that was fired in an unrelated crime in Hamden on December 23,1988. The state disclosed this information but, because the Hamden case was still open, refused to allow the defendant access to the Hamden police reports.

The defendant subpoenaed the Hamden police file and, following completion of the state’s case-in-chief, moved for its production. The trial court examined it in camera, determined that it contained no exculpatory evidence and declined to order its production. The defendant argues that discovery of the Hamden file would have allowed him to develop exculpatory evidence contained therein (1) to support the defendant’s testimony of third party culpability and (2) to impeach the observations and credibility of the two state witnesses who claim to have seen the gun in the defendant’s hand.

The state is constitutionally obligated to disclose evidence that is material and potentially exculpatory. Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S. Ct. 1194, 10 L. Ed. 2d 215 (1963); State v. Quintana, 209 Conn. 34, 37, 547 A.2d 534 (1988); see also General Statutes § 54-86c;3 [421] Practice Book § 741 (l).4 In addition, an independent right to disclosure of exculpatory evidence has been recognized under the due process provision of article first, § 8, of the Connecticut constitution.5 State v. Simms, 201 Conn. 395, 405 n.8, 518 A.2d 35 (1986).

A

“ ‘In order to prove a Brady violation, the defendant must show: (1) that the prosecution suppressed evidence after a request by the defense; (2) that the evidence was favorable to the defense; and (3) that the evidence was material.’ ” State v. Rasmussen, 225 Conn. 55, 90, 621 A.2d 728 (1993).

It is not disputed that after a proper request the state refused to release the Hamden file to the defendant and that, subsequently, the trial court denied the defendant’s discovery motion. Accordingly, the first Brady prong has been satisfied.

We will analyze the second prong — favorableness— and the third prong — materiality—together. “Favorable evidence is that evidence which . . . might have [422] led the jury to entertain a reasonable doubt about . . . guilt . . . and this doubt must be one that did not otherwise exist.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Green, 194 Conn. 258, 265, 480 A.2d 526 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1191, 105 S. Ct. 964, 83 L. Ed. 2d 969 (1985). On the other hand, “evidence is material only if there is a reasonable probability that, had the evidence been disclosed to the defense, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A ‘reasonable probability’ is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” United States v. Bagley, 473 U.S. 667, 682, 105 S. Ct. 3375, 87 L. Ed. 2d 481 (1985); State v. Rasmussen, supra, 225 Conn. 92; State v. Pollitt, 205 Conn. 132, 142-43, 531 A.2d 125 (1987).

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State v. Jaynes, 650 A.2d 1261, 36 Conn. App. 417, 1994 Conn. App. LEXIS 434, 1994 WL 705443 (Colo. Ct. App. 1994).

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