State v. Marrero-Alejandro, 154 A.3d 1005

Defendant Gilberto O. Marrero-Alejandro was convicted by a jury of murder for a 2010 Bristol shooting and sentenced to 60 years.
At trial, the prosecution introduced DNA evidence obtained from a buccal swab taken after the defendant had invoked his right to counsel.
Defense counsel had informed the trial court that his suppression motion did not challenge the buccal swab, leaving the issue unpreserved at trial.
The Appellate Court affirmed, holding the claim unreviewable because it was unpreserved and did not satisfy the constitutional-magnitude requirement of State v. Golding, reasoning the buccal swab was nontestimonial.
The Connecticut Supreme Court granted certification limited to whether the Appellate Court properly upheld denial of the suppression motion, but rephrased the actual issue to whether the unpreserved challenge presented a question of constitutional magnitude.
After review, the Supreme Court concluded certification was improvidently granted and dismissed the appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the defendant’s unpreserved challenge to admission of DNA from a buccal swab presents a question of constitutional magnitude	State: The buccal swab was non‑testimonial; no Fifth Amendment or state constitutional issue implicated	Marrero‑Alejandro: Admission of swab taken after invocation of counsel should be suppressed	Appellate Court found claim unpreserved and not constitutional in magnitude; Supreme Court dismissed certification as improvidently granted

State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233 (establishes review of unpreserved constitutional claims)
State v. Ouellette, 295 Conn. 173 (court may reformulate certified question to reflect actual issue presented)
Rosado v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., 276 Conn. 168 (same as to reformulating certified questions)
State v. Marrero‑Alejandro, 159 Conn. App. 376 (Appellate Court opinion at issue)
State v. Marrero‑Alejandro, 319 Conn. 934 (Supreme Court grant of certification)