Opinion ID: 2077155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: State Compulsory Process Claims

Text: Supplying a complete state constitutional analysis pursuant to State v. Geisler, 222 Conn. 672, 684-86, 610 A.2d 1225 (1992), the defendant next claims that the state's release of Stevenson from his subpoena violated his compulsory process rights under article first, § 8, of the Connecticut constitution. See footnote 2 of this opinion. Most significantly, the defendant relies on this court's interpretation of that provision's due process clause in State v. Morales, 232 Conn. 707, 657 A.2d 585 (1995), as well as Montgomery v. State, 804 N.E.2d 1217 (Ind.App.), transfer denied, 822 N.E.2d 976 (Ind.2004), and People v. Perez, 255 Mich.App. 703, 662 N.W.2d 446, vacated in part on other grounds, 469 Mich. 415, 670 N.W.2d 655 (2003), in support of a state constitutional rule requiring prosecutors to provide criminal defendants with prior notice when they intend to release a witness from subpoena, regardless of whether the prosecutor has knowledge of that witness' pending unavailability. In response, the state contends that this claim is unpreserved and that the record is inadequate for review under State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989). The state also relies on State v. Estrella, supra, 277 Conn. at 488-89, 893 A.2d 348, and contends that the state compulsory process clause should be interpreted consistently with its sixth amendment counterpart. We agree with the state and conclude that the prosecutor's release of Stevenson from his subpoena did not violate the defendant's right to compulsory process under article first, § 8, of the state constitution. We begin with the reviewability of the defendant's state constitutional claim. Although we disagree with the defendant that he preserved this claim in his arguments to the trial court, none of which mentioned a state constitutional claim, we will grant his request and review this claim pursuant to State v. Golding, supra, 213 Conn. at 239-40, 567 A.2d 823, under which a defendant may prevail on unpreserved claims only if: (1) the record is adequate to review the alleged claim of error; (2) the claim is of constitutional magnitude alleging the violation of a fundamental right; (3) the alleged constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived the defendant of a fair trial; and (4) if subject to harmless error analysis, the state has failed to demonstrate harmlessness of the alleged constitutional violation beyond a reasonable doubt. The first two Golding requirements involve whether the claim is reviewable, and the second two involve whether there was constitutional error requiring a new trial. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Foreman, 288 Conn. 684, 692-93 n. 6, 954 A.2d 135 (2008). Notwithstanding the state's argument to the contrary, we conclude that the transcript is adequate to determine the historical basis of the events that occurred during the trial of the present case, leaving any evidentiary failures for consideration under the third prong of Golding, namely, whether the defendant proved the clear existence of a constitutional violation that deprived him of a fair trial. [33] It is well established that federal constitutional and statutory law establishes a minimum national standard for the exercise of individual rights and does not inhibit state governments from affording higher levels of protection for such rights. . . . Furthermore, although we often rely on the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of the amendments to the constitution of the United States to delineate the boundaries of the protections provided by the constitution of Connecticut, we have also recognized that, in some instances, our state constitution provides protections beyond those provided by the federal constitution, as that document has been interpreted by the United States Supreme Court. . . . The analytical framework by which we determine whether, in any given instance, our state constitution affords broader protection to our citizens than the federal constitutional minimum is well settled. In State v. Geisler, [supra, 222 Conn. at 684-86, 610 A.2d 1225], we enumerated the following six factors to be considered in determining that issue: (1) persuasive relevant federal precedents; (2) the text of the operative constitutional provisions; (3) historical insights into the intent of our constitutional forebears; (4) related Connecticut precedents; (5) persuasive precedents of other state courts; and (6) contemporary understandings of applicable economic and sociological norms, or as otherwise described, relevant public policies. [34] (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. McKenzie-Adams, 281 Conn. 486, 509-10, 915 A.2d 822, cert. denied, 552 U.S. 888, 128 S.Ct. 248, 169 L.Ed.2d 148 (2007). As the state observes, this case is not our first opportunity to consider the contours of the state constitution's compulsory process clause. In State v. Estrella, supra, 277 Conn. at 488-89, 893 A.2d 348, we recently concluded that the state compulsory process provision did not provide greater protections than did the federal constitution with respect to a criminal defendant's inability to subpoena a witness who had been deported by the federal government. Discussing the textual and historical factors, we concluded that there is no such basis for assigning independent meaning to our state constitutional provision. Id., at 489, 893 A.2d 348; see also id., at 489 n. 19, 893 A.2d 348 (noting slight textual difference in the two provisions but fail[ing] to see how this difference would have any practical effect). We also noted that the defendant in Estrella had not pointed us to any Connecticut or sister state case law that supported his request for enhanced protection under the state constitution and had advanced no compelling policy considerations to warrant a broader reading of the state compulsory process clause. Id., at 489, 893 A.2d 348. In his briefs, the defendant in the present case does not, however, ask us to overrule or limit Estrella. He does, however, rely on the independent state due process analysis from State v. Morales, supra, 232 Conn. at 707, 657 A.2d 585, in support of his argument that the state constitution offers defendants vast protections regarding the calling of witnesses even greater than those offered by the federal constitutionto ensure that defendants may adequately defend themselves against criminal charges. In Morales, in considering whether the state's failure to preserve potentially useful evidence, specifically a jacket worn by a sexual assault victim that had contained semen stains from the attack, violated a defendant's due process right to a fair trial, we followed the vast majority of our sister states that have considered the issue under their own constitutions, and rejected the federal bad faith standard articulated in Arizona v. Youngblood, 488 U.S. 51, 57-58, 109 S.Ct. 333, 102 L.Ed.2d 281 (1988). [35] State v. Morales, supra, at 726-27, 657 A.2d 585. In so concluding, this court performed a complete Geisler analysis and elected to continue applying, as a matter of state constitutional law, the balancing test from State v. Asherman, 193 Conn. 695, 724, 478 A.2d 227 (1984), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1050, 105 S.Ct. 1749, 84 L.Ed.2d 814 (1985), [36] that had been utilized prior to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Youngblood. [37] State v. Morales, supra, at 719-20, 657 A.2d 585. We conclude that Morales does not alter our conclusion in Estrella that Connecticut case law does not support a broader reading of the state compulsory process clause. Morales is readily distinguishable from the present case with respect to the permanency of the unavailability of the evidence or testimony at issue and, therefore, the ultimate fairness of the defendant's trial. Put differently, this case does not involve the destruction, disposal or total loss of evidence but, rather, temporary witness unavailability that, as a constitutional matter, is attributable to the defendant's own failure to take the action necessary to exercise the rights provided him under the state compulsory process clause, either by issuing his own subpoenas prior to trial pursuant to § 52-143, or attempting to seek a continuance during trial, to enable that action. Turning to the other Geisler factors, the defendant has not pointed to, and our independent research has not disclosed, any decisions wherein the courts of our sister states have construed their state constitutions as providing greater protections with respect to the prosecution's release from subpoena of one of its witnesses. [38] Thus, the two decisions that the defendant does cite, Montgomery v. State, supra, 804 N.E.2d at 1217, and People v. Perez, supra, 255 Mich.App. at 703, 662 N.W.2d 446, are considered more appropriately under the public policy factor, which encompasses economic/sociological considerations. State v. Geisler, supra, 222 Conn. at 685, 610 A.2d 1225. In Montgomery, an arson case, the state rested its case without calling two insurance company investigators, whose reports contradicted in part the findings of the police, and then released them from subpoena, leaving the defendant unable to subpoena them himself in time to testify at trial. Montgomery v. State, supra, at 1220. The court concluded that the failure of the defendant's trial counsel to seek a continuance to subpoena the investigators for live testimony, rather than reading a deposition into evidence, was constitutionally ineffective assistance because the case against the defendant was entirely circumstantial and amounted to a battle of the experts. Id., at 1221-22. The court, did, however, admonish the prosecutor for his failure to inform [the defendant], whose witness list included those witnesses listed by the [s]tate . . . or seek permission from the trial court to release the witnesses from the court's subpoena. (Citation omitted.) Id., at 1222 n. 6. While not attributing its decision to any particular legal source, the court stated that, under Indiana law, once a witness is served with a subpoena, the witness is under court order to appear, and cannot be unilaterally dismissed without permission from the court that issued the subpoena. Further, given the substantial time and cost that go towards service of process, duplicative service of subpoenas is unnecessary and unwarranted when one party has clearly served the subpoena prior to trial. [39] Id. As a practical matter, we agree with the defendant that it would be an efficient best practice for the prosecutor to notify both the court and the defendant prior to releasing its witnesses from subpoena, particularly if there is a likelihood that the witnesses will become unavailable to be subpoenaed by the defendant later in the trial. This procedure is not, however, presently required by statute or a rule of practice, and we decline to implement it as a rule of state constitutional law, given that the defendant's compulsory process rights already are protected by existing statutes and court procedures, including § 52-143, as well as the potential availability of continuances in the case of temporarily missing material witnesses. Thus, with only one of the Geisler factors providing any support at all for the defendant's claim, and the defendant having failed to avail himself of existing procedures to attempt to secure Stevenson's presence, we conclude that the state constitution's compulsory process clause does not provide him with greater protection in the present case.