State v. Stephanie U.

206 Conn. App. 754
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 24, 2021
DocketAC41793
StatusPublished

This text of 206 Conn. App. 754 (State v. Stephanie U.) 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. Stephanie U., 206 Conn. App. 754 (Colo. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

*********************************************** The “officially released” date that appears near the be- ginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be pub- lished in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the be- ginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the “officially released” date appearing in the opinion.

All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the advance release version of an opinion and the latest version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest version is to be considered authoritative.

The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publica- tions, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. *********************************************** STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. STEPHANIE U.* (AC 41793) Bright, C. J., and Prescott and Elgo, Js.

Syllabus

Convicted of various crimes in connection with her actions while attempting to pick up her child from day care while allegedly under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, the defendant appealed to this court. The defendant testified on her own behalf at trial. During cross-examina- tion, the prosecutor asked the defendant whether she had an interest in the outcome of the trial and implied that the defendant had the opportunity to tailor her testimony by taking the stand after observing the testimony of all of the other witnesses. Additionally, during the rebuttal portion of her closing argument, the prosecutor argued that the defendant was the only witness who had the opportunity to hear the testimony of the other witnesses prior to giving her own testimony, that she had a vested interest in the outcome of the case, and that the jurors could consider that interest in their decision-making process. On appeal, the defendant claimed, inter alia, that the prosecutor’s questioning and argument constituted generic tailoring, which violated her right to con- frontation and her right to testify on her own behalf under both the state and federal constitutions. Held: 1. The defendant failed to prove her unpreserved claim that the prosecutor violated her state constitutional rights to confront witnesses against her and to testify on her own behalf: although the state’s tailoring questions and argument were generic because they were not tied to evidence that specifically gave rise to an inference of tailoring and instead focused on the defendant’s presence in the courtroom, her ability to observe the proceedings, and her interest in the outcome of the trial, the defen- dant failed to prove that the state constitution offered greater protection than the federal constitution and, accordingly, failed to establish a consti- tutional violation under State v. Geisler (222 Conn. 672), as the language of article first, § 8, of the Connecticut constitution was virtually identical to that of the sixth amendment to the federal constitution, Connecticut’s early recognition of a defendant’s right to testify provided no insight as to whether the state historically viewed generic tailoring as improper, most of the cases that the defendant claimed were persuasive precedent from other states relied on the supervisory authority of the courts and on public policy to prohibit generic tailoring arguments or questions rather than on their state constitutions, the United States Supreme Court in Portuondo v. Agard (529 U.S. 61) held that generic tailoring arguments did not violate the federal constitution, Connecticut precedent after Portuondo did not demonstrate that the state courts considered generic tailoring arguments to raise state constitutional issues, and the defen- dant’s argument that public policy considerations required a conclusion that generic tailoring arguments violated the state constitution was not compelling. 2. The prosecutor did not deny the defendant her due process of law under either the federal or state constitutions: the defendant’s claim was unpre- served and it failed under the third prong of State v. Golding (213 Conn. 233); moreover, our Supreme Court in State v. Medrano (308 Conn. 604) held that a trial court’s instruction that a jury could consider the defendant’s interest in the outcome of the case did not implicate the defendant’s right to due process, and the defendant in this case failed to demonstrate that a prosecutor’s similar argument could have more of an impact on her due process rights than a court’s jury instruction. 3. The prosecutor did not deprive the defendant of a fair trial when she argued that the defendant had tailored her testimony and that she had a motive to lie: the defendant failed to establish a claim of prosecutorial impropriety because she failed to prove that the prosecutor’s argument and questions infringed on her constitutional rights. 4. This court declined to employ its supervisory authority over the adminis- tration of justice to expand the Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Medrano (308 Conn. 604) to prohibit a prosecutor from making argu- ments about the defendant’s interest in the outcome of his or her criminal trial, the defendant having failed to persuade this court that such argu- ment merits the exercise of that authority. 5. Although the defendant was not entitled to a new trial because the prosecu- tor’s generic tailoring questions and comments did not affect the fairness of her trial, this court exercised its supervisory authority over the admin- istration of justice to prohibit prosecutors from employing generic tai- loring arguments in future criminal cases: this court determined that generic tailoring arguments should be prohibited because they were likely to implicate the perceived fairness of the judicial system and could give rise to a danger of juror misunderstanding; accordingly, this court held that, prior to asking tailoring questions or before making such comments in closing arguments in the future, a prosecutor must inform the trial court and the defendant of her intention to do so and, if the defendant objects, the trial court must determine that the prosecu- tor’s questions or argument are specific before allowing the state to pro- ceed. 6. The defendant could not prevail on her claim that her conviction of attempt to commit risk of injury to a child should be vacated because the crime was cognizable: our Supreme Court determined in State v. Sorabella (277 Conn. 155) that attempt to commit risk of injury to a child was a cognizable offense and this court was bound by that decision. Argued January 5—officially released August 24, 2021

Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with the crimes of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, operating a motor vehicle while her license was under suspension and attempt to commit risk of injury to a child, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Tolland, geographical area number nineteen, and tried to the jury before Seeley, J.; verdict and judgment of guilty, from which the defendant appealed to this court. Affirmed. Laila M. G. Haswell, senior assistant public defender, for the appellant (defendant). James M. Ralls, assistant state’s attorney, with whom were Matthew C. Gedansky, state’s attorney, and Jaclyn Dulude, assistant state’s attorney, for the appellee (state).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
206 Conn. App. 754, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stephanie-u-connappct-2021.