State v. Glen S.

Citations

• 207 Conn. App. 56

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been convicted of sexual assault in a spousal or cohabiting relationship, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation. The defendant requested that he appear as a self-represented party in his violation of probation proceed- ing. Following a canvass, the trial court determined that the defendant was competent to represent himself and granted his request. During the evidentiary hearing portion of the proceeding, the defendant had difficulty formulating nonargumentative, noncompound questions while cross-examining the state's witnesses. After the state rested its case, the defendant requested that a specific attorney be appointed as his defense counsel. The trial court was unable to grant the request because the attorney was not on the authorized list of special public defenders. The trial court instead appointed a special public defender to act as standby counsel, as the defendant continued to insist that he represent himself, and it ordered a competency evaluation of the defendant pursu- ant to the applicable statute (§ 54-56d). After the defendant refused to cooperate with the evaluators, the trial court determined that the defendant was no longer competent to represent himself and appointed his standby counsel to fully represent him. At the request of defense counsel, the trial court ordered a second competency evaluation to determine whether the defendant was competent to stand trial. The defendant again refused to cooperate with the evaluators, and the trial court, finding that the defendant understood the charges against him and was capable of assisting with his defense, proceeded with the evidentiary hearing. The defendant declined the opportunity to recall the state's witnesses for reexamination, and he did not testify or put forth any of his own witnesses. The trial court found the defendant in violation of his probation. Held: 1. The defendant could not prevail on his unpreserved claim that the t