State v. Nguyen
Decision Date | 18 July 2000 |
Docket Number | (SC 16093) |
Citation | 253 Conn. 639,756 A.2d 833 |
Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
Parties | STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. HOA VAN NGUYEN |
Borden, Norcott, Katz, Palmer and Vertefeuille, JS. James E. Swaine, for the appellant (defendant).
Ellen A. Jawitz, assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were James E. Thomas, state's attorney, and Edward R. Narus, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).
The principal issue in this certified appeal involves the proper scope of the trial court's inquiry when faced with an allegation that a sequestration order granted pursuant to Practice Book § 42-361 has been violated. In specific, we must determine whether, in the absence of a request from counsel, the trial court must conduct a formal evidentiary hearing prior to ruling on the merits of an alleged sequestration violation. This inquiry requires that we also determine, as a preliminary matter, the limitations of such an order, specifically whether a sequestration order granted pursuant to § 42-36 operates to prohibit counsel from discussing, outside of the courtroom, the testimony of a prior witness in the presence of a prospective witness. We conclude that, in the absence of a contrary indication from the trial court, such conduct falls within the scope of a sequestration order. We conclude further that, although the trial court must conduct a preliminary inquiry of counsel when presented with a facially credible allegation that a sequestration order has been violated, whether to conduct an evidentiary hearing sua sponte is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Finally, consistent with the Appellate Court's determination of this issue; see State v. Nguyen, 52 Conn. App. 85, 88-89, 726 A.2d 119 (1999); we conclude that, under the circumstances of this case, the trial court's failure to conduct an evidentiary hearing was not an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.
The defendant, Hoa Van Nguyen, was charged with sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (2),2 and risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1993) § 53-21.3 Following a jury trial, the defendant was convicted on both counts, and the trial court imposed a total effective sentence of fifteen years imprisonment, execution suspended after twelve years, with five years probation.
The defendant appealed from the judgment of the trial court to the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court opinion sets forth the following facts that are relevant to this appeal. "The defendant, his wife and the victim's parents jointly purchased and lived together in a singlefamily home in West Hartford. In 1994, the five year old victim, Q, and her brother went to play in the basement of the house. The defendant was already in the basement and asked the victim's brother to go back upstairs and to lock the basement door behind him.
State v. Nguyen, supra, 52 Conn. App. 87.
At trial, Id., 87-88.
The prosecutor immediately brought this incident to the attention of the trial court, stating specifically:
Defense counsel responded to the prosecutor's representations as follows:
Thereafter, the court instructed the prosecutor to restate the basis of his allegation. The prosecutor recounted that "there was a reference that `she said this' and then a direction, which I believe would be to Mr. Thibodeau about `Well, can you say this' and `You can say this' as to the nature of what he would ultimately testify to ... which I perceive obviously is discussing what she said with him in [Thibodeau's] presence and then obviously determining to proffer his evidence." In response, defense counsel denied the allegation, emphasizing that, At that point, the prosecutor clarified that he was not suggesting that defense counsel told Thibodeau what to say on the stand, but that he had In response, defense counsel effectively retracted his original statement that he had discussed specific elements of the prior witness' testimony in Thibodeau's presence, stating that, "[t]here was a question or two about `did I say the right thing, did I not say the right thing,' but I want to be clear about one thing, and that is that the substance of [the defendant's wife's] testimony was not gone into in front of Mr. Thibodeau." On the basis of these statements, the court concluded that the sequestration order, the purpose of which was to protect the integrity of the witnesses, had been violated. Because of that breach, the trial court barred Thibodeau's testimony.
The following day, the defendant moved that the trial court reconsider its order and permit Thibodeau's testimony. Although defense counsel acknowledged having had a conversation with the defendant's wife, he attempted to clarify the perceived inconsistency in his previous statements by emphasizing that "the content of her testimony was not discussed in front of Mr. Thibodeau." At the same time, defense counsel acknowledged having
The trial court instructed the prosecutor to recount again what he had overheard. The prosecutor's recollection of events mirrored his earlier representations. He responded: Defense counsel argued that the prosecutor was taking the conversation out of context, and reiterated his claim that "[t]he only thing that was discussed was the way she talked, the way she testified, her feelings about it, whether she should have been stronger, more emotional, did she cry too much, but the content of what she said was not...
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