Nogueira v. Commissioner of Correction
Nogueira v. Commissioner of Correction
Opinion
*804
The respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court granting the petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by the petitioner, Leonardo Nogueira. On appeal, the issue before this court is whether the habeas court properly determined that the respondent had failed to
*805
establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the result in the petitioner's 2002 criminal trial for kidnapping in the first degree would have been the same had the criminal trial court applied the interpretation of kidnapping subsequently adopted by our Supreme Court in
State
v.
Salamon
,
The following facts and procedural history are relevant to our discussion. Following
*985
a trial to the court, the petitioner was convicted of kidnapping in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-92(a)(2)(A), sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70(a)(1), attempt to commit
*806
sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-70(a)(1) and 53a-49(a)(2), assault in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-61(a)(1) and threatening in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1999) § 53a-62 (a) (1).
State
v.
Nogueira
,
These criminal charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on November 11, 2000, in Danbury when the victim was attacked by the petitioner at approximately 9 p.m. Id., at 821,
Following his conviction and direct appeal, our Supreme Court "issued two watershed decisions pertaining to kidnapping crimes,
State
v.
Salamon
, [supra,
*807
Wilcox
v.
Commissioner of Correction
,
The petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of both his trial and appellate counsel. Following a habeas trial, the court,
Nazzaro, J
., issued a memorandum of decision denying the petition.
Nogueira
v.
Warden
, Superior Court, judicial district of Tolland, Docket No. CV-06-4001062,
The petitioner commenced a second habeas action and filed an amended petition for a writ of habeas *808 corpus on April 8, 2015. In count one, the petitioner alleged that his conviction of kidnapping in the first degree violated his right to due process because there was no specific finding by Judge White in his criminal trial that he had intended to prevent the victim's liberation for a longer period of time than was necessary to commit the crime of sexual assault in the first degree. In counts two and three, the petitioner alleged ineffective assistance of his first habeas counsel and his appellate habeas counsel. 5 The respondent filed an answer and raised the affirmative defense of procedural default as to count one. The petitioner filed a response, arguing that (1) he was not procedurally defaulted and (2) in the alternative, if count one of the petition was subject to a procedural default, then he satisfied the cause and prejudice requirement.
At the habeas trial on May 27, 2015, the parties agreed that the court should consider the "criminal trial transcripts, direct appeal materials, first habeas trial transcripts, and pleadings and the habeas appeal materials as well." Additionally, the parties agreed that no additional testimony was necessary. Counsel for the petitioner explained that because the petitioner's conviction occurred in a trial to the court, rather than a jury, his claim was not a jury instruction issue, but rather a " Salamon fact-finding issue."
On June 10, 2015, the court,
Cobb, J
., issued its memorandum of decision, concluding that the petitioner's constitutional right to due process was violated as a result of the criminal court's failure to apply the
Salamon
standard for kidnapping that was made retroactive to habeas proceedings in
Luurtsema
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
The habeas court stated the petitioner's claim as follows: "[H]is rights to due process of law pursuant to the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution and article first, §§ 8 and 9, of the Connecticut constitution were violated because he was convicted of kidnapping absent a finding by the fact finder, in this case the [criminal] trial court, that the victim was restrained to an extent exceeding that which was necessary to accomplish or complete the crime of sexual assault, and other crimes, as now required by
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
The habeas court stated that it was undisputed in the present case that Judge White, in 2002, had not applied the
*987
Salamon
standard, which was not part of our law until 2008, in finding the petitioner guilty of kidnapping in the first degree. "In particular, the [criminal] trial court did not consider whether the petitioner intended to move or confine the victim in a way that had independent criminal significance, that is, that the victim was restrained to an extent exceeding that which was necessary to accomplish or complete the other crime, in this case the sexual assaults and other crimes." The habeas court, therefore, concluded that the petitioner had suffered a violation of his due process rights. It then rejected the respondent's affirmative defense of procedural default.
6
For a remedy, it followed
*810
Luurtsema
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
After this court heard oral argument in the present case, our Supreme Court released its decision in
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
,
In
Hinds
, the court began by noting that the hallmark of the crime of kidnapping "is an abduction, a term that is defined by incorporating and building upon the definition of restraint." Id., at 66-67,
In
State
v
. Salamon
, supra,
The court in
Hinds
then turned to
Luurtsema
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
The court proceeded to the question of whether the petitioner was entitled to a new trial as a result of the omission of the proper instruction on kidnapping pursuant to
Salamon
.
Before considering the present case in light of the controlling principles set forth in
Hinds
, we address one characteristic distinguishing it from the majority of post-
Salamon
appellate cases. In this matter, the petitioner was convicted following a trial to the court, whereas most of the post-
Salamon
cases have involved jury trials. One exception, however, is
State
v.
Thompson
,
Our task, therefore, is to examine the facts of the present case through the analytical lens of
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
*990
The issue of whether the movement or confinement of a victim merely was incidental to and necessary for another crime, such as sexual assault, is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
In a long form information dated October 25, 2001, the state charged the petitioner with kidnapping in the first degree as follows: "In the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut at Danbury, Warren Murray, Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Danbury, accuses [the petitioner] of the crime of Kidnapping in the First Degree. It is further charged that in the city of Danbury, Connecticut, on or about the 11th day of November 2000, the said [petitioner], abducted another person, and restrained the person abducted with the intent to sexually abuse that person in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-92(a)(2)(A). This crime occurred in the vicinity of West and Harmony Streets." The state also charged the petitioner with sexual assault in the first degree by means of fellatio, attempt to commit sexual assault in the first degree by means of vaginal penetration, assault in the third degree and threatening.
On April 12, 2002, at the conclusion of the petitioner's criminal trial, the court issued an oral decision finding him guilty on all charges. Specifically, the court stated: "I will indicate that my decision's based on my review of the entire evidence, the testimony of all the witnesses, as well as the exhibits, and I will make some general findings of fact here. And I want to make it clear that my decision isn't limited to the findings I'm going to make now, but I will mention some factual findings specifically, but I've relied on others as well.
"On or about November 11, 2000, at between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the evening, on the-on or near the corner of West Avenue and Harmony Street here in Danbury, the victim ... was walking in the direction of the Food Bag store and encountered the [petitioner] while he was riding on his bicycle.
*816 "At that time, the [petitioner] attempted to engage the victim in conversation. The victim indicated that she was not interested in engaging in a conversation and attempted to leave. And at that time the [petitioner] got off of his bicycle, physically grabbed the victim by the legs, dragged her along the ground for a distance of approximately 113 feet to a window well adjacent to a nearby church. The [petitioner] forced the victim into the window well and kept her there for a period of time between an hour-and-a-half and two hours.
"Now, during that encounter, the victim was forced to remove her clothing. She lowered her pants part way, and after she did that the [petitioner] knocked her to the ground and got on top of her and tried to insert his penis into her vagina. As he was doing that, the victim was struggling and screaming, scratching and clawing, but the [petitioner] use[d] superior strength to hold her down in this effort to, as I said, insert his penis into her vagina.
"During the course of their time in the window well, the [petitioner] also grabbed the victim by the hair and forced her head down to his groin area. And on a minimum-or at a minimum of three times, *991 forced her head on-or her mouth onto his penis and inserted in-his penis was inserted into her mouth.
"Also, during the course of the encounter, the victim attempted to escape, repeatedly, and repeatedly the [petitioner] physically stopped her from leaving and, in fact, at one point threatened to kill her and told her that he wasn't going to let her leave until he was finished.
"Well, at some point after, a dark-haired Hispanic male encountered the [petitioner] and the victim, and engaged the [petitioner] in some altercations. The victim finally managed to escape, but was chased by the [petitioner]. And at or about the corner of West Street and Harmony Street, the victim threw herself on the *817 hood of a maroon car driven by Michelle Emmanuel, who was with her boyfriend at the time, and who saw the [petitioner] chasing after the victim. The victim at the time was screaming for help.
"Michelle Emmanuel locked the doors to her car, but continued to watch what was going on. And she says that the-well, the evidence establishes that the victim again tried to get away from the [petitioner]. She ran to a nearby telephone pole or utility pole and held onto it. The [petitioner] pried her from the pole, dragged her to a nearby area between a white house and a detached garage, and appeared to again attempt to sexually assault her.
"At the time of the encounter between the house and the garage, Ms. Emmanuel was flashing her lights in the [petitioner's]-in the victim's direction and honking her horn. [The petitioner] looked at her but continued doing what he was doing. Ms. Emmanuel called the police who arrived shortly thereafter....
"So, those are some preliminary findings-or general findings of facts. As I indicated, I want to make it clear those aren't the only facts that I'm relying on in making my decision, but I will mention those things specifically....
"Now, the [petitioner] is charged with the crime of kidnapping in the first degree in violation of § 53a-92 (a) (2) of the Penal Code, which provides as follows: A person is guilty of kidnapping in the first degree when he abducts another person and he restrains the person abducted with the intent to abuse her sexually....
"In this case, the credible evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the [petitioner] abducted the victim, unlawfully restrained her, and restrained her with the intent to sexually abuse her. The [petitioner], without the victim's consent, and *818 against her will, physically held her by her legs, dragged her body from a sidewalk on West Street into a window well of a nearby church and forced her to remain there for close to two hours while he repeatedly forced his penis into her mouth. He told her that he would not let her leave until he was finished and said he would kill her if she did not stop screaming.
"In addition, the [petitioner], while in the window well with the victim, initiated contact between his penis and her vagina in an attempt to engage in sexual intercourse with her. The evidence clearly establishes each of the elements of kidnapping in the first degree, and the court therefore finds the [petitioner] guilty of that charge. That's the first count....
"The credible evidence in this case establishes that the [petitioner] compelled the victim to engage in sexual intercourse in the form of fellatio and that the sexual intercourse in the form of fellatio was accomplished by the use of force against the victim.
"When the [petitioner] and the victim were in the window well together for nearly *992 two hours, the [petitioner] on three occasions held the victim by the hair, physically forced her head down to his groin area and inserted his penis into her mouth. The victim screamed for help, struggled with the [petitioner], and repeatedly tried to escape, but the [petitioner] used violence to prevent her from leaving, as he repeatedly forced her to engage in sexual intercourse by way of fellatio....
"The [petitioner] dragged the victim against her will from an area on West Street into a window well of a nearby church and threw her to the ground after she lowered her pants. He then held her down by placing his body on top of her, and initiated contact between her vagina and his penis without her consent. When the [petitioner's] penis touched the victim's vagina, the *819 victim was moving around in order to prevent him from penetrating her vagina with it.
"During the course of the attack the [petitioner] told the victim that if she did not stop screaming he would kill her and that he would not release her until he was finished. When the victim repeatedly tried to escape from the window well, the [petitioner] physically prevented her from leaving....
"During the encounter between the [petitioner] and the victim, the [petitioner] dragged the victim's body along the ground, pulled her hair, threw her to the ground, bit her breasts, choked her, physically fought with her, and attempted to insert his penis into her vagina. As a result of the [petitioner's] conduct, the victim suffered numerous scrapes, bruises, abrasions, trauma, and experienced pain. The [petitioner's] conscious objective to engage in the aforementioned conduct, causing physical injury to the victim, was his desire to sexually assault her-or, I should say, the [petitioner's] motivation in consciously engaging in the conduct that I mention, was to sexually assault her....
"In this case, the credible evidence establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the [petitioner] is guilty of [the crime of threatening]. The [petitioner] used physical force to keep the victim in the church window well for close to two hours while he forced her to perform oral sex on him and attempted to have vaginal intercourse with her, all against her will and without her consent.
"During the course of the attack, the [petitioner] told the victim he would not release her until he was finished and that he would kill her if she did not stop screaming. The victim repeatedly tried to escape from the [petitioner], but was unable to do so because he used violence to stop her. When the [petitioner] told the victim *820 he would kill her, it was his conscious objective to place her in fear of imminent serious physical injury. She was frightened by the [petitioner's] conduct, and his actions in sexually assaulting her and physically assaulting her indicated his intent and ability to carry out his threat."
Certain evidence not mentioned in the court's oral decision describing the window well is pertinent to our analysis. One of the police officers testified that the window well in question was eight feet long, two feet and four inches wide, and four and one-half feet deep. The bottom of the window well was lined with rocks. This testimony was not challenged or refuted during the trial.
We now return to the seminal case of
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
"First, in order to establish a kidnapping, the state is not required to establish any minimum period of confinement or degree of movement. When that confinement or movement is merely incidental to the commission of another crime, however, the confinement or *821 movement must have exceeded that which was necessary to commit the other crime. [T]he guiding principle is whether the [confinement or movement] was so much the part of another substantive crime that the substantive crime could not have been committed without such acts.... In other words, the test ... to determine whether [the] confinements or movements involved [were] such that kidnapping may also be charged and prosecuted when an offense separate from kidnapping has occurred asks whether the confinement, movement, or detention was merely incidental to the accompanying felony or whether it was significant enough, in and of itself, to warrant independent prosecution....
"Conversely, a defendant may be convicted of both kidnapping and another substantive crime if, at any time prior to, during or after the commission of that other crime, the victim is moved or confined in a way that has independent criminal significance, that is, the victim was restrained to an extent exceeding that which was necessary to accomplish or complete the other crime. Whether the movement or confinement of the victim is merely incidental to and necessary for another crime will depend on the particular facts and circumstances of each case. Consequently, when the evidence reasonably supports a finding that the restraint was
not
merely incidental to the commission of some other, separate crime, the ultimate factual determination must be made by the jury. For purposes of making that determination, the jury should be instructed to consider the various relevant factors, including the nature and duration of the victim's movement or confinement by the defendant, whether that movement or confinement occurred during the commission of the separate offense, whether the restraint was inherent in the nature of the separate offense, whether the restraint prevented the victim from summoning assistance, whether the restraint reduced the defendant's risk of detection and
*822
whether the restraint created a significant danger or increased the victim's risk of harm independent of that posed by the separate offense. (Citations omitted; emphasis in original; footnotes omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 546-48,
The court in
Salamon
also affirmed the general principle that an individual could be charged with and convicted of more than one crime arising from the same act or acts, so long as all of the elements of each crime were proven. Id., at 548,
*994 As previously stated, the question of whether the movement or confinement of a victim merely was incidental to and necessary for another crime, such as sexual assault, is dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case. To that end, we examine the decisions from our Supreme Court and this court that have considered the issue of whether the failure to apply Salamon constituted harmless error. We first discuss the cases that have determined that the absence of the Salamon rule amounted to harmless error, and then consider those that reached a contrary conclusion and required a new trial.
We begin with
State
v.
Hampton
, supra,
On appeal, our Supreme Court agreed with the state that the failure to give the
Salamon
instruction was harmless because it was clear "beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury's verdict would have been the same in the absence of the impropriety." Id., at 462,
In
Eric M
. v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
On appeal, we noted that the test for determining harmlessness was "whether it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the [impropriety] complained of did not contribute to the verdict obtained." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 845,
In
State
v.
Jordan
,
On appeal, the defendant claimed that he was entitled to a new trial on the kidnapping charges as a result of the failure of the court to provide the jury with a
Salamon
instruction. Id., at 219,
The defendant argued that "the entire forty-five minute confinement of the victims was comprised of
*826
the defendant's assaultive action. There was, therefore, no period of time during which the victims were restrained for a greater degree than was necessary to commit the assaults." Id., at 222,
In
State
v.
Strong
,
On appeal, we considered the issue of whether the lack of the
Salamon
instruction, under these facts, amounted to harmless error. Id., at 139,
In
State
v.
Nelson
,
On appeal, we agreed with the defendant that the jury should have received the Salamon instruction.
*997
Id., at 860,
*828
"The substantial length of the victim's restraint following the assaultive conduct by the defendant is significant to our analysis. The defendant's restraint during such a substantial amount of time is overwhelming evidence of the defendant's intent to prevent the victim's liberation for a longer period of time than that necessary for the commission of any other crime. Stated otherwise, after reviewing all of the evidence presented, we do not believe that a rational jury could find that the defendant's restraint of the victim was inherent in, or incidental to, assault or any other crime." Id., at 861,
We also are guided by our Supreme Court's decision in
State
v.
Ward
,
The trial court provided the jury with the
Salamon
instruction. Id., at 726,
In reviewing the granting of the motion for a judgment of acquittal, our Supreme Court, after noting that it was a close case, concluded that the jury, having received the
Salamon
instruction, reasonably could have found that the confinement or movement of the victim was not merely incidental to the sexual assault. Id., at 736,
"In short, although the defendant did not confine the victim for a lengthy period of time or move her a significant distance, the facts and circumstances of the present case, considered as a whole, support the jury's determination that the restraint of the victim was not
*830
merely incidental to or an inherent part of the sexual assault. Our decision is not based on any single fact, but on the cumulative effect of the evidence adduced at trial." (Footnote omitted.) Id., at 738,
To complete our analysis of the parameters of the harmless error inquiry under
Hinds
, we now turn to the cases in which a reviewing court determined that the failure to apply the
Salamon
standard was not harmless and required a new trial. For example, in
State
v.
Fields
,
Razek subsequently returned to the residence and was physically assaulted by the defendant. Id., at 242-43,
On appeal, the defendant argued that he was entitled to a new trial with respect to the kidnapping charge as to Razek as a result of the court's failure to instruct the jury in accordance with
Salamon
. Id., at 244-45,
In
State
v.
Flores
,
On appeal, the state conceded that a
Salamon
instruction should have been given, but argued that it was harmless error. Id., at 83,
In
Epp
s
v.
Commissioner of Correction
,
*833
In his habeas petition, the petitioner claimed error in his criminal trial because the jury had not received the
Salamon
instruction.
On appeal to this court, the defendant claimed that his conviction of kidnapping should be reversed on the basis of
Salamon
and its progeny.
We determined that this court could not supply the required findings.
We conclude our review of the relevant cases, with facts that fairly can be described as a literal parade of horribles, with
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
Addressing the issue of harmlessness, the court noted that it was required to "consider the legal parameters set forth in
Salamon
, and the standard for assessing whether the omission of such guidance to the jury requires reversal of the petitioner's kidnapping conviction." Id., at 76-77,
The court later noted that the victim's ability to escape was not diminished as a
*1002
result of the movement from the parking lot to the grassy area and, aside from the brief moment when the petitioner placed his hand over her mouth, the victim's physical ability to summon help was impaired solely due to the nature of the sexual assault. Id., at 87,
Against this backdrop we now consider the present case. As made abundantly clear by our review of the precedents from this court and our Supreme Court, this determination requires a detailed consideration of the facts and circumstances relating to the criminal conduct. Here, the criminal trial court found that the petitioner encountered the victim on a street corner, got off his bicycle, physically grabbed the victim by the legs, dragged her along the ground for approximately 113 feet to the window well of a nearby church. 8 The petitioner forced the victim into a window well, which, according to the uncontested evidence, was four and one-half feet deep 9 and lined with rocks. The petitioner kept her in the window well for a period of time between ninety and one hundred and twenty minutes.
While in the window well, the petitioner forced the victim to lower her pants, at which time he knocked her to the ground. He got on top of her and attempted to insert his penis into her vagina. The victim *1003 struggled and screamed 10 while scratching and clawing the petitioner. Her attempts at self-defense, however, were unsuccessful, as the petitioner used his superior strength to hold the victim down during his attempt *839 at sexual assault by way of vaginal penetration. 11 The petitioner grasped the victim's hair and forced his penis inside her mouth on three separate occasions during the encounter. The victim testified that the total time of oral penetration was five minutes, and this was not contradicted at any point by the petitioner.
The criminal trial court found that the victim repeatedly tried to escape and that the petitioner repeatedly prevented her from doing so. At some point, a third party interrupted the petitioner, and, at this point the victim was able to escape from the window well. While being chased by the petitioner, the victim jumped onto the hood a car located at the corner of West Street and Harmony Street. The victim pleaded for help from the occupants of the car, and then, in an effort to get away from the petitioner, ran to a nearby telephone pole and held onto it. At that point, the petitioner pried her off, 12 dragged her to a nearby area between a house and detached garage, and again attempted to sexually assault her. The police arrived shortly thereafter, 13 at which point the petitioner fled from the scene.
We conclude that the present case is more analogous to the cases where a reviewing court concluded that the lack of the
Salamon
instruction was harmless error and distinguishable from those cases
14
in which the
*840
absence of the
Salamon
instruction or finding required a new trial. In order to reach this conclusion, we carefully have reviewed and considered both the facts and the legal reasoning of the precedent cited herein. We are satisfied that the respondent has met his burden.
15
*1004
To answer the question of whether the absence of the
Salamon
standard constituted harmless error requires us to examine the factors and principles enunciated in that case. We iterate that "[a] defendant may be convicted of both kidnapping and another substantive crime if, at any time prior to, during or after the commission of that other crime, the victim is moved or confined in a way that has independent criminal significance, that is, the victim was restrained to an extent exceeding that which was necessary to accomplish or complete the other crime.... For the purposes of making that determination, the [fact finder should] consider the various relevant factors, including the nature and duration
*841
of the victim's movement or confinement by the defendant, whether that movement or confinement occurred during the commission of the separate offense, whether the restraint was inherent in the nature of the separate offense, whether the restraint prevented the victim from summoning assistance, whether the restraint reduced the defendant's risk of detection and whether the restraint created a significant danger or increased the victim's risk of harm independent of that posed by the separate offense."
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
Here, the petitioner pulled the victim to the ground and dragged her 113 feet to the window well, but it is unclear how long this process took, as the evidence indicates that the victim was resisting this movement. The petitioner's movement of the victim in this case is distinguishable from the facts in
Hinds
, where the victim was moved "only a matter of yards," which occurred in a matter of seconds.
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
Most significantly, the asportation of the victim to the window well diminished her ability to escape.
16
See
*1005
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
Furthermore, after the victim was able to escape from the window well, the petitioner chased after her. The victim threw herself on the hood of a car and then clutched a telephone pole, at which point the petitioner ordered her to let go of the telephone pole, grabbed her arms, and choked the victim until she was left with no choice but to release her grip. The petitioner then dragged the victim to an area between the white house and detached garage and again attempted to sexually assault her. These additional acts by the petitioner further evidence an intent to frighten the victim, to prevent her escape, and to restrain her more than was necessary to sexually assault her or attempt to commit that crime.
The facts of the present case also are distinguishable from those found in
Salamon
,
DeJesus
and
Sanseverino
, the trilogy of cases in which our Supreme Court reconsidered its interpretation of our statutes and determined that restraint incidental to the commission of another offense no longer constituted the crime of kidnapping. In
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
In
State
v.
DeJesus
, supra, 288 Conn. at 423-24,
In
State
v.
Sanseverino
, supra, 291 Conn. at 581,
In
Salamon
,
DeJesus
and
Sanseverino
, the jury reasonably could have found that the restraint of the victims was incidental to the commission of another offense, and therefore the convictions of kidnapping could not stand. In this case, however, the petitioner's restraint and movement of the victim had independent criminal significance to support his conviction of kidnapping. Moreover, we are mindful of our Supreme
*845
Court's observations that the
Salamon
rule did not constitute a "complete refutation";
State
v.
Salamon
, supra,
Under the facts and circumstances of this case, we conclude that a reasonable fact finder, under the proper interpretation of our kidnapping law, could not find that the restraint of the victim was merely incidental to or an inherent part of the sexual assault crimes. Given the uncontested and overwhelming evidence before the criminal trial court, we conclude that that judgment would have been the same had Judge White applied the law set forth in
Salamon
. The evidence presented by the state, considered as a whole; see
State
v.
Ward
, supra,
The judgment is reversed and the case is remanded with direction to deny the petitioner's amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
In his main and reply briefs, the respondent also argued that the habeas court improperly (1) considered the petitioner's due process claim before addressing the cause and prejudice test to defeat the affirmative defense of procedural default and (2) determined that the petitioner had established "good cause" for failing to raise his Salamon claim on direct appeal.
After oral argument, our Supreme Court released its decision in
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
,
In the respondent's supplement brief, he stated: "Assuming the holding of Hinds is final, it is binding. Thus the [respondent's] claims in his main and reply briefs that the habeas court incorrectly applied the standards under the procedural default doctrine fail." The respondent further explained that Hinds was decided incorrectly and did not "withdraw his claims addressed in his main and reply briefs."
As an intermediate appellate court, we, of course, are bound by the decisions of our Supreme Court. See
State
v.
Madera
,
In
State
v.
Nogueira
, supra,
Other cases during this time period that altered the interpretation of our kidnapping statutes include
State
v.
Sanseverino
,
Judge Nazzaro determined, in the context of the issue raised in the petitioner's first habeas trial, that there was more than incidental restraint in this case. Specifically, he stated: "[T]here was overwhelming evidence of a struggle, of a dragging of the body, of the pleas for help, the screaming, the re-assaults if you will, the oral violation of the victim, the attempted vaginal violation, the constant withholding of the liberty of the victim, so there is no question there is sufficient evidence of guilt on all the charges."
Nogueira
v.
Warden
, supra,
The petitioner subsequently abandoned his claims of ineffective assistance of his prior habeas counsel.
On the basis our decisions in
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
,
It then concluded that "the petitioner's due process rights were violated by the absence of the application of the [criminal] trial court of the Salamon charge on kidnapping. In addition, the court rejects the respondent's affirmative defense of procedural default finding that the petitioner has established cause for not raising the issue in his direct appeal, and prejudice, in that the absence of the proper kidnapping instruction significantly impacted the trial such that the petitioner suffered actual prejudice."
The court in
Hinds
noted that the procedural default standard set forth in
Wainwright
v.
Sykes
,
The victim also testified that she struggled "[t]he whole time, at every moment" during the time period that the petitioner dragged her to the window well. This testimony was not contested by the petitioner.
The depth of the window well is significant because the victim testified that she was five and one-half feet tall, so being placed in this window well made escape substantially more difficult as she not only had to break away from the physical restraint of the petitioner, but also had to climb out of what amounted to a deep hole in the ground. Additionally, the depth reduced the risk of detection of the petitioner's criminal conduct. These factors were not present in
Hinds
v.
Commissioner of Correction
, supra,
The victim stated that she implored the petitioner to "leave her alone" and to let her go, but he instructed her to "shut up" and ordered her not to cry. Again, this testimony was not disputed during the criminal trial.
The victim testified that she tried on several occasions to get out, but that she was not able. She also stated that the petitioner punched her and threatened to kill her. During this point, she pleaded with the petitioner to not "hurt me anymore."
The victim testified that while she clung to the telephone pole, the petitioner demanded that she let go, and then pulled on her arms in an effort to remove her from the pole before strangling her, which caused her to release her grip.
The victim indicated that period of time was "not even five or ten minutes ...."
See
State
v.
Fields
, supra, 302 Conn. at 253,
We note that we were not presented with a case in which the time of the underlying offense was brief and was either preceded or followed by an extended period of restraint. See, e.g.,
State
v.
Hampton
, supra,
Although the events of the present case lasted for a period of up to two hours, the facts do not indicate any demarcation between the time of the assault and the overall incident. In other words, under the record before us, we are unable to determine the amount of time in which the sexual assault and attempt to commit sexual assault occurred vis-à -vis the overall period of time of the incident.
The placement of the victim in the window well also served to frighten and subdue her to prevent her from summoning assistance despite the fortunate and timely arrival of the third parties in this case. See
State
v.
Ward
, supra,
The victim testified that when the petitioner briefly left to fight with a third party, she tried to get out of the window well, but the depth impeded her departure and allowed the petitioner to throw her back down. Only following another altercation between the petitioner and the third party was the victim able to get out of the window well. The petitioner, however, was able to quickly hunt her down and resume his felonious conduct.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Leonardo Nogueira v. Commissioner of Correction
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published