State v. Hernandez Herrera

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of sexual assault in the first degree, unlawful restraint in the second degree, and failure to appear in the first degree, the petitioner appealed to this court. During the trial, although a video recording and tran- script of the victim's statement to the police were marked for identification only, they were included among the exhibits that were brought to the jury room prior to the jury beginning its deliberations. On appeal, the defendant claimed, inter alia, that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress certain statements that he made to the police following his arrest because the detective who interrogated him repeatedly made misrepresenta- tions of fact that rendered his statements involuntary. Held: The trial court did not abuse its discretion or violate the defendant's right to due process by denying his motion to suppress certain statements he made to the police, as this court, having reviewed the totality of the circumstances surrounding the defendant's interrogation, concluded that the factual mis- representations and other deceptive tactics used by one of the police officers during the defendant's interview did not render his statements to the police involuntary and, thus, inadmissible as a matter of due process. The trial court properly denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial based on the two exhibits marked for identification only that were inadvertently submitted to the jury during its deliberations, as the court properly exer- cised its discretion in conducting an inquiry into the potential issue of juror misconduct pursuant to State v. Brown (235 Conn. 502), and the defendant failed to demonstrate that his right to an impartial jury was violated. Argued December 15, 2025—officially released June 16, 2026