State v. Auburn W.

Citations

• 198 Conn. App. 558

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of harassment in the second degree, stalking in the second degree and of having committed offenses while on release, the defendant appealed to this court, claiming that the trial court improperly determined that he forfeited his right to self-representation. The trial court had granted the defendant's motion to represent himself after it determined that he was competent to do so following a competency evaluation. After finding that the defendant was competent and able to assist in his defense, the court canvassed him as to his waiver of his right to counsel and informed him that a resumption of his prior disruptive courtroom conduct could result in a forfeiture of the right to represent himself. The defendant thereafter engaged in obstructionist behavior in further proceedings despite multiple warnings from the trial court. The court also noted that the defendant's extensive witness list included the names of two deities, and the prosecutor expressed concern about the defendant's competency to represent himself after stating that the discovery the defendant provided to him contained the defendant's origi- nal song lyrics and a short story and photographs of the defendant and his children. The court then ruled that the defendant had forfeited his right to self-representation. Held that the trial court reasonably con- cluded that the defendant would not be competent to discharge the essential functions necessary to conduct his defense without the assis- tance of counsel: the court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the defendant had a mental illness or mental incapacity that would interfere with his competency to conduct trial proceedings, which sup- ported the court's conclusion that he forfeited his right to self-representa- tion, as the psychiatrist who conducted the competency evaluation of the defendant diagnosed him with a personality disorder, the court determined after the competency hearing that the defendant exhibited signs