State v. Hughes

Citations

• 341 Conn. 387

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm and criminal possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting death of the victim, the defendant appealed to this court, claiming that the state had failed to satisfy its burden of disproving his claim of self- defense beyond a reasonable doubt and that the trial court improperly had denied his motion for a new trial on the ground of juror misconduct. While the defendant and his girlfriend, K, were drinking and socializing at a bar, they began to argue, and K struck the defendant in the face with a beer bottle. K then left the bar with the keys to their vehicle, and the defendant followed her. At the request of a bartender, several patrons, including the victim, went outside to check on K. As K was seated in the driver's seat of the couple's vehicle, the defendant punched her in the face. The victim and another patron pulled the defendant away from K, and the defendant and the victim started to argue. Another patron intervened, and the situation appeared to have calmed down, but, moments later, the defendant shot the victim three times with a gun that he had removed from the vehicle and then fled the scene. Shortly thereafter, the defendant fled to Canada. At trial, the defendant asserted that he had acted in self-defense and offered his account of the events. He testified, inter alia, that, at the time of the shooting, he thought that the victim was reaching for a gun because the victim had threatened him and had reached into the waistband of his pants. Following his conviction, the defendant filed a motion for a new trial on the ground of juror misconduct after learning that, during deliberations, a juror, J, had consulted a dictionary for the definition of ''manslaughter.'' Following a hearing, at which the jurors, including J, were individually questioned, the trial court, relying on the standard set forth in State v. Johnson (288 Conn. 236), denied the defendant's motion, concludi