State v. Lavecchia

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been convicted after a jury trial of the crime of assault in the third degree in connection with an altercation at a restau- rant, appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court. A police officer, who spoke to the victim and witnesses, and reviewed security camera footage, responded affirmatively at trial when asked if his investi- gation led him to conclude that probable cause existed for the defen- dant's arrest. The defendant objected to the testimony on the ground that the police officer's answer contained a legal conclusion, and the trial court overruled the objection. The trial court also declined the defendant's request to admit into evidence the psychiatric records of the only direct witness to the altercation, who, in the months prior to the altercation, maintained a YouTube channel and uploaded videos of himself discussing his mental health struggles. Held: 1. The defendant's unpreserved claim that the trial court permitted the police officer to testify on an ultimate issue in violation of § 7-3 of the Connecticut Code of Evidence was unreviewable because it was not raised before the trial court; at no time did defense counsel raise any claim that the testimony constituted an opinion on an ultimate issue, the defendant's sole objection having been that it contained a legal conclusion, and, because the defendant's claim that the testimony vio- lated his constitutional rights was evidentiary in nature, rather than constitutional, it did not qualify for review pursuant to State v. Golding (233 Conn. 213). 2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant's request to admit into evidence the witness' psychiatric records, the court having first conducted an in camera inspection of the records and determined that they contained nothing related to the witness' ability or capacity to relate the truth, or to observe, recollect or narrate the relevant occurrences. Argued May 12—officially released September