State v. Benjamin, 9 A.3d 338

Benjamin was convicted of selling narcotics in 2003, began probation, and his probation was extended twice for violations.
On June 10, 2006, he was arrested for possession of narcotics, assault of an elderly person in the third degree, and attempted robbery; related probation violation was aggregated with the criminal case.
During trial, the jury found him guilty of narcotics possession but not guilty of the assault; dispositional phase followed showing probation no longer served its beneficial purposes.
The trial court sentenced Benjamin to four years for probation violation and three years for the narcotics conviction, running consecutively for a total of seven years.
Appellate Court affirmed, holding the probation revocation could be sustained on the narcotics possession alone, without addressing the assault if needed.
This Court granted certification to determine whether the Appellate Court properly declined to address the merits of the assault-based claims when remanding for narcotics-based resentencing could be appropriate.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court improperly relied on the Abrams identification	Benjamin; suppression should apply to identification	State; independent evidence supports assault finding regardless of identification	Sufficient independent evidence supported the assault finding
Whether the assault-based basis for probation revocation was supported by a preponderance of the evidence	Identification issues undermine sufficiency	Evidence, including conduct at scene, supports guilt beyond a reasonable doubt for probation purposes	There was sufficient evidence to support the probation violation for assault
Whether the case should be remanded for sentencing solely on narcotics possession	Remand for narcotics-only basis to determine proper sentence	Dispositional considerations depend on both narcotics and assault findings	No remand; disposition can be upheld based on both grounds; the appeal was resolved without remand

Payne v. Robinson, 10 Conn. App. 395 (Conn. App. 1987) (probation revocation standard and preponderance evidence)
State v. Gauthier, 73 Conn. App. 781 (Conn. App. 2002) (probation revocation standard; independence of evidence)
State v. Davis, 229 Conn. 285 (1994) (due process and standard of proof in probation revocation)
State v. Wells, 112 Conn. App. 147 (Conn. App. 2009) (identification and probation revocation considerations)
State v. Preston, 286 Conn. 367 (2008) (two-phase probation revocation; dispositional phase importance)
State v. Strickland, 243 Conn. 339 (1997) (dispositional phase in probation proceedings)
State v. Moody, 214 Conn. 616 (1990) (consciousness-of-guilt inferences admissible)
State v. Daniels, 248 Conn. 64 (1999) (assumed due process issue regarding identification in probation revocation)