State v. Vazquez

830 A.2d 261, 79 Conn. App. 219, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 381
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedSeptember 2, 2003
DocketAC 23472
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 830 A.2d 261 (State v. Vazquez) 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. Vazquez, 830 A.2d 261, 79 Conn. App. 219, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 381 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Opinion

BISHOP, J.

The defendant, Juan Vazquez, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of one count of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a, and one count of conspiracy to com[221]*221mit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-48 and § 53a-54a. The defendant claims that he was denied a fair trial because of a repeated pattern of prosecutorial misconduct. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On the night of July 29, 1996, John Townsend, the victim, and John Okon went to a bar in Southington for a few drinks. At around midnight, the two decided to pool their money and attempt to buy some cocaine. They then drove to a housing project on Willow Street in New Britain. Okon remained in the car as the victim got out and approached some men to ask where cocaine might be purchased. After some discussion, the victim returned to the car with the cocaine. As they began to drive off, something hit the car, and the victim instructed Okon, who was driving, to stop. The victim exited the car to investigate. Moments later, Okon heard a shot, got out of the car and saw the victim lying on the ground, dead. Okon drove away from the scene until he found a police officer to whom to report the event.

At trial, in August, 2001, the state called, inter alios, two witnesses, Madelyn Cruz and Sheila Calderon, who claimed to have seen the defendant shoot the victim in the head and then flee the scene. The defendant also testified. Subsequently, the defendant was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

On appeal, the defendant claims that the prosecutor engaged in a pattern of misconduct that deprived the defendant of a fair trial. Although the defendant did not preserve his claims at trial, because he contends that he was deprived of a constitutional right, he requests review pursuant to State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 567 A.2d 823 (1989). In the alternative, he requests plain error review and review in derivation of this court’s inherent supervisory authority over the administration of justice.

[222]*222Specifically, the defendant claims that the prosecutor (1) improperly impugned the defendant’s character during cross-examination, in particular with evidence of prior bad acts, (2) implied that the defendant was lying, (3) commented negatively on the defendant’s right to assist in his defense, (4) invited the defendant to comment on the credibility of other witnesses, (5) improperly vouched for the credibility of several state’s witnesses and (6) commented on facts not in evidence. Additional facts will be introduced as necessary.

I

As the defendant’s claims were not preserved at trial, he now seeks review under State v. Golding, supra, 213 Conn. 233. Accordingly, “a defendant can prevail on a claim of constitutional error, not preserved at trial only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) the record is adequate to review the alleged claim of error; (2) the claim is of constitutional magnitude alleging the violation of a fundamental right; (3) the alleged constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived the defendant of a fair trial; and (4) if subject to harmless error analysis, the state has failed to demonstrate harmlessness of the alleged constitutional violation beyond a reasonable doubt.” (Emphasis in original.) Id., 239-40. “The first two conditions are determinations of whether a defendant’s claim will be reviewed, and the third condition involves a review of the claim itself.” State v. Graham, 33 Conn. App. 432, 442, 636 A.2d 852, cert. denied, 229 Conn. 906, 640 A.2d 117 (1994). When any one of those conditions is not satisfied, the claim will fail. State v. Golding, supra, 240.

As an initial matter, we conclude that the first two prongs of Golding have been met. The record is adequate for review, and it is well settled that prosecutorial misconduct can result in the deprivation of a defen[223]*223dant’s due process right to a fair trial.1 See State v. Singh, 259 Conn. 693, 700-701, 793 A.2d 226 (2002); State v. Alexander, 254 Conn. 290, 303-304, 755 A.2d 868 (2000).

The third prong of Golding requires the defendant to show that the alleged constitutional violation clearly existed and that it clearly deprived him of a fair trial. In cases of prosecutorial misconduct, to make that determination, we employ a two part test. State v. Brown, 71 Conn. App. 121, 128-29, 800 A.2d 674, cert. denied, 261 Conn. 940, 808 A.2d 1133 (2002). First, we determine if the remarks were improper, and, if they are found to be so, we determine whether they caused such substantial prejudice to the defendant as to deny him due process of law. See State v. Yusuf, 70 Conn. App. 594, 622, 800 A.2d 590, cert. denied, 261 Conn. 921, 806 A.2d 1064 (2002).

A

The first part of our inquiry requires us to “determine whether the particular conduct was improper before determining whether the impropriety, if any, deprived the defendant of a fair trial.” State v. Singh, supra, 259 Conn. 702. We examine each of the alleged instances of misconduct, in turn, to assess whether they were, in fact, improper.

The first alleged instances of improper conduct by the prosecutor occurred during the cross-examination of the defendant. The defendant claims that the prosecutor exceeded the scope of inquiry established during the direct examination and, in so doing, introduced [224]*224evidence that was prejudicial to the defendant.2 In response, the state argues that “the door was opened” to the prosecutor’s line of inquiry by defense counsel on direct examination.

Specifically, the defendant claims that the prosecutor’s inquiry regarding the defendant’s known associates and their proclivity toward guns was improper and prejudicial.3 Additionally, the prosecutor inquired about [226]*226previous motor vehicle violations by the defendant4 and a previous encounter with the police in an empty apartment on Willow Street,5 and made a reference to the defendant’s familiarity with police questioning techniques. The state claims that those subjects were broached first by defense counsel on direct examination and, thus, were a proper subject of inquiry.

We first examine the level of deference accorded to counsel when cross-examining a witness. In general, the court has wide discretion in setting the scope of cross-examination. State v. Palozie, 165 Conn. 288, 297, 334 A.2d 468 (1973). Although cross-examination is limited to the subject matter of the direct examination; State v. Manning, 162 Conn. 112, 116, 291 A.2d 750

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Bluebook (online)
830 A.2d 261, 79 Conn. App. 219, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 381, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-vazquez-connappct-2003.