AC39478- In re Larry D. (Termination of parental rights; " On appeal, the respondent claims that the court violated his due process rights by ordering him to participate in a psychological evaluation without first appointing him counsel and advising him of his rights. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Juvenile Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC37510 - Izzo v. Quinn (Foreclosure of mechanic's lien; "The defendant, Richard Quinn, appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing his four count counterclaim against the plaintiff, Benedetto Izzo, doing business as New Haven Drywall. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court erred in dismissing his counterclaim on the ground that he had failed to join an indispensable or necessary party. We agree, and, accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Foreclosure Law,
• Recent Opinions

AC38370 - DeCastro v. Odetah Camping Resort, Inc. (Negligence; "In this wrongful death action, the plaintiff, Adelson Luiz DeCastro, the administrator of the estate of Jose Luiz DeCastro (decedent), appeals from the judgment rendered by the trial court in accordance with its decision granting a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict filed by the defendant, Odetah Camping Resort, Inc. The decedent drowned while swimming in a lake abutting the defendant's resort. On appeal, the plaintiff claims that the trial court erred in (1) applying the wrong legal standard for proximate cause; and (2) rendering judgment notwithstanding the verdict when the jury reasonably could have concluded that the defendant's negligence was a proximate cause of the plaintiff's injuries. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the court.")

• Posted in:
• Recent Opinions,
• Tort Law

SC19466 - State v. Ayala (Interfering with officer; certification from Appellate Court; "We consider in this appeal whether allowing the state to amend an information after the commencement of trial to charge additional offenses without good cause constitutes per se reversible error. The state appeals, upon our grant of certification, from the judgment of the Appellate Court reversing the judgment of conviction of the defendant, Enrique Ayala, of three counts of interfering with an officer in violation of General Statutes § 53a-167a. See State v. Ayala, 154 Conn. App. 631, 656, 106 A.3d 941 (2015). The state contends that, in the absence of prejudice, the trial court's decision to allow a midtrial amendment charging additional offenses was neither an abuse of discretion nor reversible error. We conclude that, although the trial court abused its discretion in allowing the state to amend the information without good cause to charge additional offenses, that impropriety would not require reversal of the defendant's conviction on the amended charges in the absence of prejudice. We further conclude, however, that the Appellate Court's judgment must be affirmed because the improper amendment was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under the circumstances of this case.")

• SC19466 Dissent - State v. Ayala

AC38394 - State v. Burgos (Sexual assault in first degree; risk of injury to child; aggravated sexual assault of minor; attempt to escape; "The defendant, Christopher Burgos, appeals from the judgments of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of one count of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (2), one count of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (2), one count of aggravated sexual assault of a minor in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70c (a) (1), and, in a separate information, one count of attempt to escape from custody in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 (a) (2) and 53a-171 (a) (1). On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court erred (1) by not sua sponte ordering pretrial and posttrial competency hearings and canvassing him on his purported right to testify at those hearings; (2) in joining the sexual assault information and the escape information for trial; (3) in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized from his apartment; and (4) in denying his motion to vacate his convictions for sexual assault in the first degree and risk of injury to a child on double jeopardy grounds. We affirm the judgment in part, and we reverse the judgment in part.")

AC36006 - State v. Catchings (Attempt to commit assault in first degree; assault of peace officer; carrying pistol or revolver without permit; sufficiency of evidence; "The defendant, Marcellus Catchings, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of attempt to commit assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 (a) (2) and 53a-59 (a) (1). On appeal, the defendant claims that there was insufficient evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt his intent to inflict serious physical injury on another person, as required for a conviction of attempt to commit assault in the first degree. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC38932 - State v. Medina (Capital felony; conspiracy to commit murder; "The defendant, Jose E. Medina, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of capital felony in violation of General Statutes (Rev. 2011) § 53a-54b (7) and General Statutes § 53a-8 (a), and conspiracy to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-48 (a) and 53a-54a (a). On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly allowed the jury to consider inculpatory statements in violation of his federal constitutional rights where the record is clear that either (1) the detectives failed to advise the defendant of his Miranda rights prior to their custodial interrogation of him, or (2) the Miranda waiver that the defendant gave was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary because he was under the influence of phencyclidine (PCP). We affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

AC34970 - State v. Connor (Kidnapping first degree; robbery third degree; robbery involving occupied motor vehicle; larceny third degree; determination of competency to stand trial; determination of competency for self-representation; "This case returns to us following a remand by our Supreme Court. On remand, our Supreme Court has directed us to consider whether the trial court improperly determined that the defendant, Jeffrey T. Connor, was competent to represent himself at his criminal trial. State v. Connor, 321 Conn. 350, 375, 138 A.3d 265 (2016). Having considered that question, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in determining that the defendant was competent to represent himself. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.")

• Posted in:
• Criminal Law & Procedure,
• Recent Opinions

AC38246 - Heck v. Commissioner of Correction (Habeas; "On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court improperly concluded that counsel who represented him in two criminal trials involving town hall burglaries provided ineffective assistance. We affirm the judgment of the habeas court…More precisely, the petitioner criticized the performance of trial counsel in failing to argue that the physical transfer of the GPS device to Connecticut and its subsequent use at his two trials were constitutionally impermissible because once the petitioner’s burglary case in New Hampshire was annulled under New Hampshire law sometime after November 12, 2008, any police and court records contained in his case were not disclosable to the public, including Connecticut law enforcement officials. The petitioner argued that he was prejudiced by the use of the GPS device at both trials.")

• Posted in:
• Habeas Corpus Law,
• Recent Opinions