State v. Robinson

• Decision Date: 28 September 1995
• Docket Number: No. 11350,11350
• Citation: 662 A.2d 1295,38 Conn.App. 598
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Shawn ROBINSON.
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals

Page 1295

662 A.2d 1295

38 Conn.App. 598

STATE of Connecticut v. Shawn ROBINSON.

No. 11350.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued Jan. 11, 1995.

Decided June 29, 1995.

Certification Granted Sept. 28, 1995.

Deborah L. DeHart, Stamford, with whom, on the brief, were William H. Narwold, Hartford and Lynn A. Addington, Stamford, for appellant (defendant).

Nancy L. Gillespie, Deputy Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, were Michael Dearington, State's Atty., and David J. Strollo, Asst. State's Atty., for appellee (state).

Before DUPONT, C.J., and EDWARD Y. O'CONNELL and LANDAU, JJ.

DUPONT, Chief Judge.

The defendant appeals from a judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of two counts of the crime of assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-60. He claims that he was denied a right to a fair trial by the trial court's words and conduct, and that the state's use of two peremptory challenges violated his right to equal protection under the law as explicated in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). We conclude that the defendant was given a fair trial but remand this matter for a hearing as to the exercise of one of the peremptory challenges.

I FAIR TRIAL

The defendant claims that he was deprived of a fair trial because the trial court improperly (1) made reference to the fact that security in the courtroom was a result of the war in the Middle East, (2) laughed at him, and (3) allowed him to be shackled during the course of the trial. The defendant asserts that the trial court's comments and the high level of security in the courtroom, when taken as a whole, prejudiced him and denied him the right to a fair trial. If the defendant were to prevail on this claim, he would be entitled to a new trial; State v. Couture, 194 Conn. 530, 564-65, 482 A.2d 300 (1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1192, 105 S.Ct. 967, 83 L.Ed.2d 971 (1985); and we would not need to reach the defendant's claim that the use of peremptory challenges violated his right to equal protection.

The defendant argues that the trial court made improper reference to the war in the Middle East in that part of its charge concerning the heightened security in the courtroom. The defendant claims that he was prejudiced by this comment because the jury was aware of the fact that he was a Muslim.

In its charge to the jury, the trial court stated, "In addition, I wanted to say something about the security in the courtroom. You know, we're a very security conscious society. Right now, because of the war, there's security all over. Mr. Robinson has made no secret of the fact that he is an inmate in a correctional institution. There are certain policies and procedures followed in cases like this and I don't want you to draw any kind of an inference that anything you saw related to any security measures taken in this courtroom or any intimation of the guilt or nonguilt of Mr. Robinson. It has no bearing whatsoever on the ultimate issue here that you're going to be deciding."

The defendant objected to the trial court's reference to the war. Thereafter, the trial court called the jury back and stated, "Counsel has asked me to correct one false impression that I might have left with you. I want to be absolutely certain that you understand that any reference I make to security or the war has absolutely nothing to do with this case. Nothing whatsoever. I was just speaking generally. And I want to just impress on you that you were not to associate any security measures that have been taken in this courtroom with any indication of the guilt or nonguilt of the defendant. It has absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever and obviously any measures that we have taken here have nothing whatsoever to do with the war. I just wanted to correct that."

The trial court's comments did not prejudice the defendant. First, we cannot assume that the jury knew the defendant's religious affiliation. The defendant has not provided a reference to any part of the transcript to show that the jury knew of the defendant's religion. The defendant references his own comment to the trial court, outside the presence of the jury, that the jury knew he was a Muslim, and his own comment during a hearing on a postverdict motion. ¹

Further, even if the jury was aware of the defendant's religion, the trial court's statements indicate that it referenced the security precautions taken because of the war in the Middle East simply as an example of society's general security consciousness. It is unlikely that any juror would understand the court's general comment to be related to the religious affiliation of the defendant.

Next, the defendant claims that he was prejudiced because the trial court allegedly laughed at him. The defendant discusses this issue in only one sentence of his brief and his only reference to the transcript is from the hearing on a postverdict motion where the trial court stated, "I do remember one occasion when everybody in this room laughed and I'm sorry to say that I joined in." ² It is impossible from this statement to know the reason for the laughter, and to assess the merits of the defendant's claim.

The defendant next asserts that the high level of security in the courtroom throughout the trial served to create a prejudicial atmosphere, thereby depriving him of a fair trial. Prior to voir dire, the trial court conducted a hearing to determine whether the defendant should be restrained during trial. The first witness to testify was a sheriff who recalled an incident that occurred while the defendant was in a holding cell at the courthouse, wearing handcuffs and leg irons, with a gag in his mouth. The defendant had smashed his head through a window, picked up a piece of broken glass and threatened sheriffs with the glass.

The trial court also admitted into evidence the transcript of summary contempt proceedings from a previous mistrial of this case where the trial court had described incidents that occurred during that trial. The court stated that the "[d]efendant Mr. Shawn Robinson in the process of the voir dire examination interrupted the voir dire examination with contemptuous comments to the court. He specifically indicated 'Hey man, I got to go to the bathroom' and refused to participate further in the voir dire. He refused to return to the courtroom after a recess was granted. When he was escorted back into the courtroom by the sheriffs he refused to sit down when directed by the court. He was shouting in a loud and belligerent manner. He refused to stop shouting when directed to do so by the court. He refused to stop talking when directed to do so by the court.... It was reported to the court that there was an incident at the jail in which three sheriffs were injured by this defendant and he was unable to be brought to the court." The state then brought to the attention of the court other alleged incidents of violent behavior by the defendant, including the fact that, in this case, the defendant was accused of assaulting two correction officers while incarcerated at the John R. Manson youth institution.

The trial court then decided that the defendant should remain shackled with his hands loosely cuffed to his belly irons, but without close handcuffs. During the trial, the court modified its original ruling by ordering that the defendant's writing hand be free and, then, ordering that both hands be free. The court had a barrier constructed to conceal the physical restraints from the jurors. Correction officers in charge of the defendant sat or stood near him in the courtroom.

The defendant claims that his right to a fair trial was violated by these security measures. "As a general proposition, a criminal defendant has the right to appear in court free from physical restraints.... Grounded in the common law, this right evolved in order to preserve the presumption favoring a criminal defendant's innocence, while eliminating any detrimental effects to the defendant that could result if he were physically restrained in the courtroom.... Nonetheless, a defendant's right to appear before the jury unfettered is not absolute.... A trial court may employ a reasonable means of restraint upon a defendant if, exercising its broad discretion in such matters, the court finds that restraints are reasonably necessary under the circumstances." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Tweedy, 219 Conn. 489, 505, 594 A.2d 906 (1991).

"In reviewing the defendant's claims concerning shackling, our standard of review is whether the trial court abused its sound discretion in acting as it did.... The trial court's discretion on the issue of shackling is broad.... It is for the trial court to consider all the circumstances to accommodate fairly the defendant's right to the indicia of innocence before the jury as well as the competing rights of participants in the courtroom and society at large." (Citations omitted.) State v. Woolcock, 201 Conn. 605, 615, 518 A.2d 1377 (1986).

Here, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by ordering the security measures and causing the defendant to be restrained. The defendant had exhibited a history of violent behavior. This violent behavior had been directed toward sheriffs and the court and had occurred in the courthouse. Further, the trial court attempted to conceal the restraints from the sight of the jury and adjusted the restraints after personally observing the defendant in the courtroom.

Finally, the defendant asserts that the cumulative effect of the trial court's comments and the heightened security deprived him of a fair trial. Our previous conclusions concerning the court's comments and security measures lead us to reject this claim. " 'We decline to create a new constitutional claim in which the totality of alleged constitutional error is greater than the sum of its parts.' " State v. Robinson, 227 Conn. 711, 747, 631...