State v. Spencer

840 A.2d 7, 81 Conn. App. 320, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 44
Connecticut Appellate Court·Decided February 3, 2004·No. AC 23099·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

Opinion

SCHALLER, J.

The defendant, Anthony Spencer, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a juiy trial, of kidnapping in the first degree in violation [322] of General Statutes § 53a-92 (a) (2) (A),1 sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (1),2 3sexual assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-71 (a) (1)3 and risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1993) § 53-21.4 The defendant claims that he was deprived of a fair trial as a result of (1) prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument and (2) the court’s refusal to instruct the jury on a lesser included offense. Because we conclude that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct that violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and order a new trial.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. In June, 1994, the alleged victim, a fourteen year old girl, left school in New Haven to meet her boyfriend. The alleged victim boarded a bus from her school to downtown New Haven. Once the bus took her to downtown New Haven, she waited at another bus stop. While [323] waiting at that bus stop, she witnessed a classmate conversing with the defendant. The defendant was twenty-four years old at the time. The defendant asked the alleged victim to get into his car. When she refused, the defendant grabbed her and forced her into the car. The defendant unsuccessfully attempted to buckle her seat belt. He closed the car door and ran to the driver’s side. The alleged victim attempted to open the car door, but could not figure out how to operate the door handle.

The defendant drove off with the alleged victim. He stopped at a package store to obtain beer. He left her in the car, but she remained in his sight the entire time. The defendant then drove her to a New Haven motel. Once again, he left her in the car for about five minutes as he registered for a room. The defendant returned and escorted her to the motel room. She did not attempt to escape, but unsuccessfully attempted to get the attention of other people in the parking lot. In response, the defendant grabbed her neck from behind. After they entered the motel room, the defendant locked the door. Once inside, the defendant threatened her with a partially concealed knife. The defendant then allegedly sexually assaulted her. After the alleged assault ended, she made up a story that she had a child and that she needed to pick the child up from her baby-sitter at a residence on Congress Avenue in New Haven. The defendant and the alleged victim departed from the motel in his car.

When the defendant and the alleged victim arrived at the specified location on Congress Avenue, which was actually the residence of her boyfriend, she went inside. The defendant waited outside so she supposedly could retrieve her child before the defendant would drive her home. Once inside, she broke down and informed her boyfriend that she had been assaulted. The boyfriend proceeded outside with a friend to confront the defendant, but the defendant sped off. The [324] alleged victim reported the alleged sexual assault to the police. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

The defendant’s first claim is that the prosecutor committed misconduct during his closing argument. Specifically, the defendant argues that the prosecutor improperly (1) expressed his personal opinions as to the defendant’s guilt and the credibility of witnesses, (2) appealed to the emotions, passions and prejudices of the jurors, and (3) introduced unproven facts that were not in the record. We agree.

The defendant concedes that because he did not object to the prosecutorial misconduct at trial, his claim was not preserved properly. He may prevail on his unpreserved claim of prosecutorial misconduct if he satisfies all four requirements set forth in State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989).5 “It is well established that [w] e will not afford Golding review to [unpreserved] claims of prosecutorial misconduct where the record does not disclose a pattern of misconduct pervasive throughout the trial or conduct that was so blatantly egregious that it infringed on the defendant’s right to a fair trial.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Perry, 58 Conn. App. 65, 69, 751 A.2d 843, cert. denied, 254 Conn. 914, 759 A.2d 508 (2000). We now review the closing argument to determine whether a pattern of misconduct existed or whether the conduct was so egregious as to infringe on the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

[325] “[P]rosecutorial misconduct can occur in the course of closing argument. . . . When presenting closing arguments, as in all facets of a criminal trial, the prosecutor, as a representative of the state, has a duty of fairness that exceeds that of other advocates.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Copas, 252 Conn. 318, 336, 746 A.2d 761 (2000). “Nevertheless, [i]n addressing the jury, [c]ounsel must be allowed a generous latitude in argument, as the limits of legitimate argument and fair comment cannot be determined precisely by rule and line, and something must be allowed for the zeal of counsel in the heat of argument. . . . Thus, the privilege of counsel in addressing the jury should not be too closely narrowed or unduly hampered .... Ultimately, therefore, the proper scope of closing argument lies within the sound discretion of the trial court.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 337.

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State v. Spencer, 840 A.2d 7, 81 Conn. App. 320, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 44 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

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