State v. Bunn

Citations

• 196 Conn. App. 549

Syllabus

Convicted, following a jury trial, of the crimes of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and possession of a pistol without a permit, the defen- dant appealed. At trial, during cross-examination of the defendant, the prosecutor asked a question that referenced the defendant's consultation with his counsel. Defense counsel did not object but the trial court, sua sponte, issued a cautionary instruction to the jury. On appeal, the defendant claimed that the prosecutor's question constituted prosecu- torial impropriety that deprived him of his due process right to a fair trial. Held that the defendant could not prevail on his claim that the prosecutor's question to the defendant, even if it was assumed to be an impropriety, deprived him of his due process right to a fair trial, as any impact of that alleged impropriety was sufficiently cured by the trial court's strong curative instruction; the state presented a strong case, the severity of the alleged impropriety was low, the alleged impropriety was limited to one question that was qualified in nature, and, although the alleged impropriety was not invited by defense counsel, and the alleged impropriety would have been central to the issues before the jury as it involved the defendant's testimony in a criminal trial, any impact the alleged impropriety had on the central issue of credibility was sufficiently cured by the trial court's strong curative instruction to the jury that was specifically directed at the question. Argued December 2, 2019—officially released March 24, 2020