Opinion ID: 1948183
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: the defendant's testimony

Text: The defendant next claims that the trial court erred in its charge to the jury by instructing them that they should consider the defendant's interest in the outcome of the case when weighing his credibility as a witness. [6] The defendant's constitutional claim is that the charge denies him due process of law. Although the defendant failed to take an exception to this part of the charge, and raises this claim for the first time on appeal, we have previously considered a challenge to similar instructions under the bypass rule of State v. Evans, 165 Conn. 61, 70, 327 A.2d 576 (1973), and will address the claim here. See State v. Maselli, 182 Conn. 66, 74, 437 A.2d 836 (1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1083, 101 S. Ct. 868, 66 L. Ed. 2d 807 (1981); State v. Mastropetre, 175 Conn. 512, 524, 400 A.2d 276 (1978). [7] This claim is totally without merit. We have without exception rejected challenges to language substantially the same as that challenged here in a line of cases starting as early as 1893. State v. Maselli, supra; State v. Mastropetre, supra; State v. Bennett, 172 Conn. 324, 374 A.2d 247 (1977); State v. Jonas, 169 Conn. 566, 363 A.2d 1378 (1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 923, 96 S. Ct. 1132, 47 L. Ed. 2d 331 (1976); State v. Blyden, 165 Conn. 522, 528, 338 A.2d 484 (1973); State v. Moynahan, 164 Conn. 560, 574, 325 A.2d 199, cert. denied, 414 U.S. 976, 94 S. Ct. 291, 38 L. Ed. 2d 219 (1973); State v. Guthridge, 164 Conn. 145, 151, 318 A.2d 87 (1972), cert. denied, 410 U.S. 988, 93 S. Ct. 1519, 36 L. Ed. 2d 186 (1973); State v. Palko, 122 Conn. 529, 534, 191 A. 320, aff'd, 302 U.S. 319, 58 S. Ct. 149, 82 L. Ed. 288 (1937); State v. Schleifer, 102 Conn. 708, 725, 130 A. 184 (1925); State v. Saxon, 87 Conn. 5, 22, 86 A. 590 (1913); State v. Fiske, 63 Conn. 388, 392, 28 A. 572 (1893).