The defendant was indicted in 1969 by a grand jury charging him with first degree murder in violation of General Statutes § 53-9. 1 He was found guilty of second degree murder after a trial by jury. From the judgment rendered he has appealed to this court.
From the evidence presented, the jury could have found the following facts. On December 23, 1968, Richard Biondi called Thomas Viola threatening to kill him, the defendant, and others before the end of the year. That evening Viola met the defendant and told him of the threat he had received. The
The defendant, armed with the machine gun, and Viola, armed with the pistol, went to Biondi’s apartment, knocked on the door, and gave the secret password. When Biondi opened the door, the defendant sprayed Biondi with a burst of machine gun fire. Biondi had three massive wounds, any one of which could have caused his instantaneous death.
The defendant and Viola left Biondi’s apartment and went to the defendant’s apartment where the defendant called Maselli to tell him he had “hit pay dirt.” They thereafter went to Maselli’s home and gave him the two weapons, the defendant again telling Maselli that he had killed Biondi. Later Maselli hid the guns in the woods. The next morning Murgo picked up Maselli and drove to the woods where the guns were hidden. Maselli emptied the machine gun by firing it. They got back into
Further facts that the jury could have found are stated with the discussion of the various errors claimed by the defendant. They are grouped as follows: (1) the attack on the jurisdiction of the court; (2) the petition pro hac vice of Attorney James J. Hogan; (3) rulings by the trial court; and (4) the charge to the jury.
I
Prior to trial, the defendant claimed that the court was without jurisdiction over the defendant. The facts, found by the court and stipulated to by the parties, indicate that the defendant had been indicted by a grand jury on this charge in 1969. Subsequently, the state surrendered the defendant to the United States government to answer to federal charges of armed robbery. At the time the defendant filed his plea, he had been convicted of the federal charge and an appeal from that conviction was pending. The defendant contends that since the federal case had not yet concluded, he was still within federal court jurisdiction and could not be tried on state charges.
While it is true that, pursuant to the supremacy clause’of the United States constitution, the federal government is under no obligation to surrender a person within its exclusive jurisdiction upon the demand of a state, the United States may waive its immunity and consent to have prisoners in its custody turned over to the state.
Ponzi
v.
Fessenden,
II
Prior to trial, local counsel petitioned for permission to have James J. Hogan, a member of the Florida bar and of various federal bars, appear pro hac vice for the defendant in this trial. The state conceded that Hogan was a qualified attorney who had previously represented the defendant in another criminal case and who had been instrumental in the defendant’s surrender to the state court. The petition was denied, hut Hogan was granted permission to sit at the counsel table in order that local counsel and the defendant might consult with him. Subsequently, a motion by the
While the sixth amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel in criminal prosecutions “implies a degree of freedom to be represented by counsel of defendant’s choice, this guarantee does not grant the unconditional right to representation in a state court by a particular out-of-state attorney.” Ro
ss
v.
Reda,
In the present case, sufficient justification existed to exclude a foreign attorney from practice in a specific local case. Ross v. Reda, supra. Attorney Hogan, at the time his petition was being heard, failed to reveal the potential conflict which existed by virtue of his representation of a state’s witness in a separate criminal proceeding. When the issue was finally brought to the court’s attention, Hogan stated that he had consulted with Murgo and that he himself felt no ethical problems existed. There is nothing in the record, however, which indicates that the defendant himself was made aware of the situation, or that, when once made aware of it, he expressly assented to it.
A potential conflict of interest, such as this, may vitiate the effective assistance of counsel.
People
v.
Stone,
25 App. Div. 2d 950,
Ill
The defendant argues that the state’s evidence, directed at showing wilful, deliberate, premeditated murder, pursuant to the requirements delineated
General Statutes § 53-9, after enumerating the elements of first degree murder, provides in pertinent part: “[A] 11 other kinds of murder shall be murder in the second degree . . . but the jury before which any person indicted for murder is tried may find him guilty of homicide in a less degree than that charged.” Pursuant to this provision, a jury is compelled to find the specific intent of wilful, deliberate and premeditated murder for a conviction of first degree murder. While voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a criminal charge, it may be relevant to negate the element of specific intent.
State
v.
Dennis,
In the present case, there was significant evidence that the defendant was intoxicated at the time of the shooting. Nearly nine pages of the state’s appendix is devoted to the cross-examination of Arthur Murgo concerning the defendant’s intoxication, Murgo having previously, on direct examina
The defendant claims that because he was not given an opportunity to interview Arthur Murgo, an important prosecution witness, he was denied due process according to the principle enunciated in
Brady
v.
Maryland,
The record indicates that the defendant’s pretrial motion to interview Murgo, if he were willing to be interviewed, was granted by the court. At the trial, on cross-examination, Murgo, when asked whether the possibility of such an interview had been mentioned to him, denied knowledge of any such discussion. The defendant then moved for a dismissal
In the present case, the court, in believing the state’s witness that Murgo had been asked whether he would be interviewed by the defense, effectively determined that the state had not suppressed material evidence. Since it is for the court to rule on a motion to dismiss the charges or a motion for a mistrial;
State
v.
Ralls,
The following eight claims of error pertain to the court’s rulings relative to the defendant’s cross-examination of various witnesses for the state. Where the record includes long excerpts of testimony and colloquy, it is difficult to set forth adequately the court’s ruling, discuss the pertinent law, and keep this opinion within reasonable bounds. Each of the assigned errors is discussed, although necessarily without great detail where, although of great consequence to the parties, a ruling is of but little general import.
On direct examination, Murgo, a state’s witness, testified that on the night of the murder the defendant consumed a lot of liquor. On cross-examination, the defendant sought to expose certain inconsistencies in the testimony, since Murgo had stated that the defendant was “drunk,” “drinking heavily,” “slightly drunk.” The court sustained the state’s objection to this line of inquiry as “argumentative,”
In an effort to impeach Murgo’s testimony, the defense sought to establish that the witness’ testimony was motivated by promises of money and immunity. To the questioning of Murgo as to whether Maselli, another state’s witness, had told him that part of the immunity agreement included payment of monies recovered from a bank robbery, the court sustained the state’s objection on the understanding that the conversation between Murgo and Maselli occurred after Murgo had submitted his signed statement to the police. In effect, the court’s ruling found the line of questioning to be irrelevant, since the conversation with Maselli occurred after Murgo had decided to corroborate Maselli’s own statements. Furthermore, the record as a whole reveals that the issue of motive was
On cross-examination of Maselli, a state’s witness, the defense sought to elicit from the witness an agreement that his signed statement to the police that no threats or promises had induced his cooperation was, in fact, untrue. The witness sought to explain his answer and the defense moved that the explanation be stricken. The defendant now claims that the court’s failure to strike the nonresponsive answers prevented the defense from obtaining from the witness additional falsities contained in his prior statement. This claim defies logic, for the court, while it refused to strike the answer, did not limit this examination. As this court emphasized in
State
v.
Villafane,
On redirect examination, the state, apparently for purposes of rehabilitation, questioned the witness Maselli as to the circumstances surrounding
On redirect examination, the state asked Maselli, “Would it be fair to say that you were attempting to help [the defendant] at that time [in allegedly disposing of the weapons] ?” The question was excluded as calling for a conclusion. The state then asked, “Why did you dispose of the guns?” and the
The defendant further objects to the state’s questioning of Maselli on redirect as to whether he knew of the motives for the murder. The questioning pertained to testimony given on cross-examination and, given the witness’ response that he knew of no other motive than that which had already come out, it did not lead to hearsay and gossip. The court did not err in overruling the defendant’s objection.
In cross-examining Viola, a key state’s witness in connecting the defendant with the crime, the defense sought to attack the witness’ credibility on the ground that in an earlier statement, made in 1970, he had failed to mention various facts elicited on direct examination. The defendant claims that the effort to impeach Viola’s credibility was unduly restricted. The record reveals, however, that the court allowed the questioning, urging primarily that the defense accept the answers. In fact, the witness admitted to an earlier omission. While it is clearly proper to attack a witness’ credibility by evidence of his materially inconsistent statements;
State
v.
Vega,
The defense sought to introduce evidence that Viola, a state’s witness, had shot someone on another, unrelated occasion. Because Viola had acted in self-defense, the case had been nolled. Consequently, the evidence was inadmissible as an attack on Viola’s credibility.
State
v.
Annunziato,
Following the testimony of Bernard Lawlor, a county detective called as a state’s witness to testify that Murgo had been asked whether he would submit to an interview with the defense and that he had explicitly said “no,” the defense requested
Finally, the defendant moved to dismiss the case on the ground that the state had failed to disclose to the defense remnants of a nine-millimeter bullet found in the victim’s apartment, and a tape recording of Maselli, in contravention of
Brady
v.
Maryland,
IV
The defendant urges that the court’s charge inadequately covered the issues raised by the defendant’s written requests to charge. “A charge to the jury
The defendant requested the court to charge the jury that the testimony of Murgo, Maselli and Viola should be viewed with caution in light of their past records, grants of immunity, and acts inconsistent with veracity. In charging the jury, the court adequately covered these issues, urging the jury to “look with particular care upon the testimony of an accomplice,” considering in this case the question of moral turpitude, the grants of immunity, and those other interests which may have affected their testimony. The charge provided the jury with sufficient warning. The fact that the charge did not specifically follow that requested by the defendant does not constitute error.
State
v.
Avila,
The defendant urges that the court’s instruction on corroboration was misleading in that it told the jury (1) that corroboration for the accomplices’ story existed, and (2) that the finding of the gun
The defendant claims that the court’s charge that the immunity granted Murgo and Maselli “must not be weighed against the state” was unduly broad and, standing alone, clearly wrong. In fact, the statement did not stand alone, but was immediately followed by the comment that such immunity “does not bear upon the guilt or innocence of the accused and should not enter your deliberations except that you may consider it on the issue of the credibility of the witness.” The court adequately stated the law. One who has been granted immunity is not an incompetent witness; General Statutes §54-47a; although the fact of immunity may bear upon the weight given the testimony of the witness granted immunity. See 2 Wharton, Criminal Evidence (12th Ed.) § 362; 81 Am. Jur. 2d, Witnesses, § 666; annot.,
Upon completion of the charge to the jury, the defendant objected to the court’s statements that the defendant had disclaimed the defense of insanity and that he had claimed that he was intoxicated at the time of the murder. The court recalled the jury and corrected its charge, explaining that the defendant left it to the state to prove each and every element of the crime charged, including the element of sanity, and that the evidence of intoxication developed from the state’s case, the defendant claiming that he was not with the state’s witnesses at all on the evening in question. When asked by the court whether the correction was sufficient, counsel for the defendant answered, “That is right.” Since no exception was taken to the corrected charge, no claim of error is properly before this court. See Practice Book § 249;
Terrazzano
v.
Sporna,
Finally, the defendant claims that the court’s supplemental charge on credibility and reasonable doubt, given in response to the jury’s written ques
There is no error.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
Notes
Bepealed October 1, 1971.
To the same effect is
Chapman
v.
Scott,
It should be noted that at the time of the hearing on Hogan’s pro hac vice petition, the court had not yet promulgated Practice Book § 15A, the rule now regulating the grant of such petitions. See also
Silverman
v.
Browning,
414 F. Sup. 80 (D. Conn.), affirmed,
See footnote 1, supra.
