State v. Mincewicz

781 A.2d 455, 64 Conn. App. 687, 2001 Conn. App. LEXIS 401
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 7, 2001
DocketAC 19210
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 781 A.2d 455 (State v. Mincewicz) 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. Mincewicz, 781 A.2d 455, 64 Conn. App. 687, 2001 Conn. App. LEXIS 401 (Colo. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

Opinion

O’CONNELL, J.

The defendant appeals from his judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, of assault of a peace officer in violation of General Statutes § 53a-167c (a) (1), interfering with an officer in violation of General Statutes § 53a-167a, larceny in the sixth degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-125a and two counts of criminal trespass in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-107 (a) (1).

[689]*689On appeal the defendant claims that (1) conviction of both assault of a peace officer and interfering with an officer constitutes double jeopardy, (2) the trial court improperly interfered with his right to present a defense and (3) the trial court improperly handled his claim of irreparable breakdown in his relationship with his lawyer. We affirm the judgment in part and reverse it in part.

The following facts are relevant to the disposition of this appeal. On February 23, 1998, the defendant was ejected from the Mohegan Sun Casino for “capping a bet,” i.e. attempting to place an additional amount on a bet already placed after the patron realizes he will win the hand, but after the time for placing bets has passed. Casino security explained to the defendant that if he returned he would be arrested for criminal trespass.

Despite this warning, the defendant returned on March 3, 1998. He was confronted by three members of the Connecticut state police, Sergeant Maurice Parker, Detective Lance Becker and Trooper Janet Kametz, who took him to their office where he was arrested for criminal trespass.

During the booking process, the defendant became uncooperative and began screaming, shouting obscenities, pushing and shoving. During this melee, the defendant struck Parker in the face. Parker, Becker and Kametz forced the defendant to the floor, handcuffed him and placed him in a chair for the remainder of the process. Kametz and Becker attempted to place the defendant’s personal property in an envelope before transporting him to the state police barracks. The defendant again became obstreperous and refused to remove a neck chain and religious medallion. A second struggle [690]*690ensued, and the officers were forced to use pepper spray to subdue him.1

I

The double jeopardy claim implicates the second and third counts of the information.2 The relevant portion of the second count charges that the defendant “caused physical injury to Sergeant Maurice Parker of the Connecticut State Police . . . while Sergeant Parker was acting in the performance of his duties . . . with the intent to prevent [him] from performing his duty.”3 The relevant portion of the third count charges that the defendant “obstructed, resisted, hindered and endangered a member of the Connecticut State Police in the performance of his or her duties.”4

To prevail on his claim that his conviction on counts two and three violate his constitutional protection against double jeopardy, the defendant must show that (1) the charged offenses arose out of the same act or transaction and (2) the two convictions are for the same offense. State v. Smart, 37 Conn. App. 360, 365, 656 A.2d 677, cert. denied, 233 Conn. 914, 659 A.2d 187 [691]*691(1995). Multiple punishments are forbidden only if both conditions are met. Id.

The state argues that the assault on Parker in the second count had been completed and that the third count refers to the slightly later incident when the defendant resisted the two other troopers who were preparing to transport him to the barracks and, thus, the state maintains, the charged offenses arose from different acts. Although the evidence presented at trial appears to support this contention, we are confronted with the threshold issue of whether, in a multiple punishment double jeopardy case, we may consider the evidence presented at trial or whether we are limited to consideration of the charging documents.

It repeatedly has been held that to determine whether two charges arose from the same act or transaction, we look to the information, as amplified by the bill of particulars, if any. State v. Goldson, 178 Conn. 422, 424, 423 A.2d 114 (1979); accord State v. Devino, 195 Conn. 70, 75, 485 A.2d 1302 (1985); State v. Williams, 59 Conn. App. 603, 606-607, 757 A.2d 1191, cert. denied, 254 Conn. 946, 762 A.2d 907 (2000); State v. Patrick, 42 Conn. App. 640, 645, 681 A.2d 380 (1996); State v. Coleman, 41 Conn. App. 255, 275, 675 A.2d 887 (1996), rev’d on other grounds, 242 Conn. 523, 700 A.2d 14 (1997); State v. Glover, 40 Conn. 387, 391, 671 A.2d 384, cert. denied, 236 Conn. 918, 673 A.2d 1145 (1996); State v. Smart, supra, 37 Conn. App. 365; State v. Roy, 34 Conn. App. 751, 768, 643 A.2d 289 (1994), rev’d on other grounds, 233 Conn. 211, 658 A.2d 566 (1995); State v. Nita, 27 Conn. App. 103, 113, 604 A.2d 1322, cert. denied, 222 Conn. 903, 606 A.2d 1329, cert. denied, 506 U.S. 844, 113 S. Ct. 133, 121 L. Ed. 2d 86 (1992); State v. Marsala, 1 Conn. App. 647, 650, 474 A.2d 488 (1984).

Also, where an information charges the defendant with two counts that can fairly be construed as the [692]*692same act and where the information states the time, date and location, the charged offenses are generally regarded as arising out of the same act or transaction. State v. Flynn, 14 Conn. 10, 17, 539 A.2d 1005, cert. denied, 488 U.S. 891, 109 S. Ct. 226, 102 L. Ed. 2d 217 (1988). Indeed, this court has determined that where an information “fails to state the nature of the alleged acts with sufficient particularity to determine whether they are in fact the same act or transaction, we construe the ambiguity in favor of the defendant and conclude that the charges arise out of the same act or transaction for double jeopardy purposes.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Coleman, supra, 41 Conn. App. 276.

In the present case, the information alleges that both crimes were committed at the same time and place (i.e., March 3,1998, at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Montville). For purposes of this analysis, the sole distinction between the two counts is that the second count specifies Parker as the victim, and the third count does not name the particular member of the state police who was the victim. It is clear, however, that both counts charge the defendant with interfering with a state police officer who was trying to perform the officer’s duties at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Montville on March 3, 1998.

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Bluebook (online)
781 A.2d 455, 64 Conn. App. 687, 2001 Conn. App. LEXIS 401, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mincewicz-connappct-2001.