State v. Cusson

Citations

• 210 Conn. App. 130

Syllabus

Convicted, after a jury trial, of the crimes of cruelty to persons and disorderly conduct, the defendant appealed to this court. The defendant, a former forensic nurse for a maximum security psychiatric facility operated by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and other facility staff, physically abused and demeaned the victim, who suffered from several mental health disorders and was committed to the facility. After the department learned of the defendant's conduct, it informed state law enforcement and launched an administrative investigation, which led to criminal charges and adverse employment actions against several employees, including the defendant. Prior to trial, the trial court held a hearing on the state's motion in limine seeking to preclude the admissibility of the victim's testimony on the ground that he was incom- petent to testify at trial pursuant to the relevant section (§ 6-3) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence. At that hearing, the state offered expert testimony from the victim's treating psychiatrist, who had personally observed the victim multiple times per day, nearly every day, for a period of two years. The defendant argued that the psychiatrist's testimony alone was insufficient to establish that the victim was incapable of providing reliable and truthful testimony and moved for an independent psychiatric evaluation of the victim, which the court denied, or, in the alternative, the defendant requested that the court evaluate the victim under oath. The court granted the state's motion to preclude the victim's testimony and credited the testimony of the victim's psychiatrist, who testified that the victim had poor cognitive memory, had trouble retaining information, was unable to narrate events or recall past experiences in a rational way, and posed a safety risk to others. Before trial, the defendant moved for sanctions and argued that the prosecution had engaged in witness intimidation because the department attempted to