State v. Vlasak

726 A.2d 648, 52 Conn. App. 310, 1999 Conn. App. LEXIS 89
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 16, 1999
DocketAC 17222
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 726 A.2d 648 (State v. Vlasak) 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. Vlasak, 726 A.2d 648, 52 Conn. App. 310, 1999 Conn. App. LEXIS 89 (Colo. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

Opinion

SULLIVAN, J.

The defendant, Jerry W. Vlasak, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury [311]*311trial, of criminal trespass in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-107.1 The defendant claims that (1) the trial court improperly denied him a fair trial by excluding evidence of bias and (2) there was insufficient evidence to support the conviction under § 53a-107. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On August 26, 1996, the defendant was arrested at a circus held at the St. Bernard’s School, located on property owned by the Catholic church. The defendant was a member of a group of animal rights activists who were protesting the treatment of animals at the circus. On several occasions, the protestors were asked to leave the property. Two of the protestors who were videotaping the animals were asked to leave the property by a circus worker. Father Brian Monnerat, pastor of St. Bernard’s, who had control and authority over the property, told a group of the protestors that they were on private property and asked them to leave the parish grounds.

Monnerat also asked the Enfield police officers at the scene to keep the protestors off the property. The police officers informed the protestors that they must leave the church property, and the protestors gathered on the public sidewalk by the entrance to the property. The police officers told them that they could not reenter St. Bernard’s property, disrupt traffic or disrupt pedestrians’ entrance to the grounds. The police officers also informed the protestors of the boundary of the church [312]*312property and warned them that they would be arrested if they were caught reentering the property. The defendant was subsequently observed reentering the church property and was arrested.

The defendant, who appeared pro se at trial, was convicted of criminal trespass in the first degree. This appeal followed.

I

The defendant first claims that an evidentiary ruling by the trial court impermissibly infringed on his rights under the confrontation clause of the sixth amendment to the United States constitution.2 Specifically, the defendant argues that the trial court improperly prohibited him from introducing impeachment evidence concerning one of the prosecution’s witnesses, Officer Richard Matte. We disagree.

The following additional facts are necessary for a proper resolution of this claim. Matte testified at trial that he had observed the defendant reenter the church property. At the time of trial, Matte was also the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit against the defendant. On two separate occasions, the defendant was given the opportunity to cross-examine Matte.3 The defendant did not seek to impeach the witness with evidence of bias or motive on either occasion.4

[313]*313Instead, the defendant sought during his redirect narrative testimony to introduce evidence of Matte’s civil lawsuit against him.5 The trial court found that the defendant had sufficient opportunity to raise the issue of Matte’s lawsuit as evidence to show motive, interest or bias, but failed to do so. As the defendant did not use his opportunities to raise the issue and instead sought to present the evidence during his own narrative testimony, the court found the testimony to be irrelevant and instructed the jury to disregard it. On appeal, [314]*314the defendant argues that the trial court’s refusal to allow his testimony concerning Matte’s lawsuit was a denial of his sixth amendment right to confrontation. We disagree.

We recognize that “[c]ross-examination to elicit facts tending to show motive, interest, bias and prejudice is a matter of right and may not be unduly restricted. . . . This right, however, is not absolute, but may bow to other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process. . . . Such an interest is the trial court’s right, indeed, duty, to exclude irrelevant evidence.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Carter, 48 Conn. App. 755, 760, 713 A.2d 255, cert. denied, 247 Conn. 901, 719 A.2d 905 (1998). “If the defendant does not specifically request cross-examination on the issue of motive, interest or bias ... he may waive his right to confront the witness on those issues. . . . This is so because he cannot be heard to complain when he chose not to cross-examine the witness in this respect.” (Citations omitted.) State v. Fullwood, 199 Conn. 281, 286, 507 A.2d 85 (1986).

“[T]he Confrontation Clause is generally satisfied when the defense is given a full and fair opportunity to probe and expose . . . infirmities through cross-examination, thereby calling to the attention of the fact-finder the reasons for giving scant weight to the witness’ testimony.” (Internal quotation marks omitted). State v. Yednock, 14 Conn. App. 333, 339, 541 A.2d 887 (1988). Furthermore, the United States Supreme Court has stated that “ ‘[t]he Confrontation Clause guarantees only an opportunity for effective cross-examination, not cross-examination that is effective in whatever way, and to whatever extent, the defense might wish.’ . . . United States v. Owens, 484 U.S. 554, 559, 108 S. Ct. 838, 98 L. Ed. 2d 951 (1988), quoting Delaware v. Fensterer, 474 U.S. 15, 20, 106 S. Ct. 292, 88 L. Ed. 2d 15 (1985).’ ” State v. Menzies, 26 Conn. App. 674, 685, 603 [315]*315A.2d 419, cert. denied, 221 Conn. 924, 608 A.2d 690 (1992).

In this case, the defendant was afforded an opportunity to cross-examine Matte fully and fairly concerning his credibility in light of his civil lawsuit, but he never raised the issue. “[A] defendant’s right of [cross-examination] is not infringed if the defendant fails to pursue a line of inquiry open to him .... The test is whether the opportunity to cross-examine existed, not whether full use of such opportunity was made.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Morant, 242 Conn. 666, 684, 701 A.2d 1 (1997); State v. Bruno, 236 Conn. 514, 533, 673 A.2d 1117 (1996). The record does not reflect, nor does the defendant claim, that the trial court placed any restrictions on his ability to cross-examine Matte. Rather, the defendant argues that the confrontation violation occurred when he was not allowed, during his redirect narrative testimony, to raise the issue of Matte’s lawsuit and possible bias.

“Although we allow pro se litigants some latitude, the right of self-representation provides no attendant license not to comply with relevant rules of procedural and substantive law.” Blakeney v. Commissioner of Correction, 47 Conn. App. 568, 586, 706 A.2d 989, cert.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
726 A.2d 648, 52 Conn. App. 310, 1999 Conn. App. LEXIS 89, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-vlasak-connappct-1999.