State v. Mungroo
State v. Mungroo
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The defendant, Nazra Mungroo, appeals, following our granting of certification,
The record and the Appellate Court’s opinion reveal the following relevant facts and procedural history. “In March, 2002, the defendant was employed as the general cashier and income auditor for the Hilton Hotel in [the city of] Hartford (hotel). In the early morning hours of
After an investigation, it was discovered that the defendant had participated in the staging of the hotel robbery.
The defendant claims that the Appellate Court applied the wrong legal standard when it determined that she had waived her claim of instructional error. She claims that, although the defense acquiesced in the
The state responds that the Appellate Court properly concluded that the defendant had waived her claim of instructional error because defense counsel “had participated in the multiphase process of drafting the charge . . . [and] had been given numerous opportunities to review fully the charge and offer comment or objection [thereto] . . . .” Alternatively, the state argues that the trial court’s instruction on the element of “material fact” was correct, and, even if the instruction was not correct, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. We conclude that the Appellate Court properly determined that the defendant had waived her claim of instructional error.
We begin by setting forth our standard of review. The defendant challenges the legal standard for waiver applied by the Appellate Court, and, therefore, her claim
The record reveals the following additional facts and procedural history. On October 30, 2006, the trial court conducted a charging conference on the record, during which it summarized the matters discussed at the previous charging conferences. The trial court noted that, on October 26, 2006, the parties were given a “ ‘boilerplate’ ” charge (first draft) and were told that the court, with the input of counsel, would “edit it as [they went] along.” On October 27, 2006, the defense submitted a request to charge,
After concluding its summary of the charging conferences on the record, the trial court asked the parties
“The Court: . . . Did [counsel] read the . . . third draft of the instruction?
“[Defense Counsel]: Yes, Your Honor.
“The Court: Any problems with that?
“[Defense Counsel]: Just a typo concerning the [dollar value of the workers’ compensation benefits allegedly received by the defendant].
* * *
“The Court: Okay. Is there anything else about the instruction other than fixing the numbers?
“[Defense Counsel]: No, Your Honor.”
The next morning, on October 31,2006, the trial court distributed to counsel the fourth and final version of its charge (final draft)
In the present case, the record is adequate for review and the claim of instructional error on an element of the crime is of constitutional magnitude because it implicates the due process rights of the defendant. See State v. Fabricatore, 281 Conn. 469, 477, 915 A.2d 872 (2007). We conclude, however, on the basis of our recent decision in State v. Kitchens, 299 Conn. 447, 10 A.3d 942 (2011), that the defendant has waived her claim of instructional error and, therefore, that it fails under the third prong of Golding. See id., 467 (“[a] constitutional claim that has been waived does not satisfy the third prong of the Golding test because, in such circumstances, we simply cannot conclude that injustice [has been] done to either party ... or that the alleged constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived the defendant of a fair trial” [internal quotation marks omitted]).
In Kitchens, we expressly overruled Ebron; id., 472-73; and concluded that, “when the trial court provides counsel with a copy of the proposed jury instructions, allows a meaningful opportunity for their review, solicits comments from counsel regarding changes or modifications and counsel affirmatively accepts the instructions proposed or given, the defendant may be deemed to have knowledge of any potential flaws therein and to have waived implicitly the constitutional right to challenge the instructions on direct appeal.” Id., 482-83. In the present case, the trial court provided defense counsel with three drafts (the second, third and final drafts) of its proposed instructions on workers’ compensation fraud, all of which included the same definition of the term “material fact” that the defendant challenged in her appeal to the Appellate Court. The first of these three drafts was distributed to counsel on October 27, 2006. Defense counsel, therefore, had three
Our conclusion is not altered by the fact that the challenged definition of “material fact” was allegedly never discussed during the various charging conferences. Kitchens indicates that the opportunity for meaningful review and discussion can give rise to a determination that a defendant has implicitly waived his or her constitutional right to challenge the instructions on direct appeal. See id. Actual discussion of the instruction later challenged is not required. In addition, we conclude that there is no merit to the defendant’s claim that defense counsel may not waive a jury instruc
The judgment of the Appellate Court is affirmed.
In this opinion ROGERS, C. J., and NORCOTT and VERTEFEUILLE, Js., concurred.
We granted the defendant’s petition for certification to appeal limited to the following issue: “Did the Appellate Court properly determine that the defendant had waived her claim of error regarding a jury instruction?” State v. Mungroo, 291 Conn. 907, 969 A.2d 172 (2009).
General Statutes § 31-290c provides in relevant part: “(a) Any person or his representative who makes or attempts to make any claim for benefits, receives or attempts to receive benefits, prevents or attempts to prevent the receipt of benefits or reduces or attempts to reduce the amount of benefits under this chapter based in whole or in part upon ... (2) the intentional nondisclosure of any material fact affecting such claim or the collection of such benefits, shall be guilty of a class C felony if the amount of benefits claimed or received, including but not limited to, the value of medical services, is less than two thousand dollars, or shall be guilty of a class B felony if the amount of such benefits exceeds two thousand dollars. Such person shall also be liable for treble damages in a civil proceeding under section 52-564.”
The staging of the robbery was apparently so inept that the trial court commented that it “looks like the robbery was staged by the Monty Python people.” For a more complete recitation of the facts concerning the defendant’s participation in the robbery, see State v. Mungroo, supra, 111 Conn. App. 679-86.
“ [A] defendant can prevail on a claim of constitutional error not preserved at trial only if all of the following conditions are met: (1) the record is adequate to review the alleged claim of error; (2) the claim is of constitutional magnitude alleging the violation of a fundamental right; (3) the alleged constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived the defendant of a fair trial; and (4) if subject to harmless error analysis, the state has failed to demonstrate harmlessness of the alleged constitutional violation beyond a reasonable doubt.” State v. Golding, supra, 213 Conn. 239-40.
The request to charge filed by the defense addressed only the meaning of an “injury aris[ing] out of employment. . . The request did not address the meaning of “material fact,” and the defense did not submit any supplemental requests to charge.
There were no changes to the definition of the term “material fact” in the third draft.
There were no changes to the definition of the term “material fact” in the final draft.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. With its decision, the majority continues its attack on what was once a foundation of this court’s jurisprudence: review of unpreserved constitutional errors pursuant to State v. Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989).
I would conclude that the defendant, Nazra Mungroo, did not waive review of her constitutional claim pursuant to Golding. It is apparent from the record that counsel for the defendant believed that the state’s case alleging fraudulent receipt of workers’ compensation benefits turned on whether the state had proven that the defendant had misrepresented or omitted a material fact and was aware of the proper definition of the term “material fact.” At the conclusion of the evidentiary portion of the trial, defense counsel filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal, for which the only stated basis was the defendant’s claim that “the [s]tate [had] presented no evidence of which material fact or facts the defendant intentionally misrepresented, or intentionally failed to disclose, when making a claim for benefits. There is therefore no evidence for the jury to find an essential element of this charge: that she made an intentional misrepresentation or omission affecting her claim to benefits.” At the hearing concerning that motion, defense counsel had argued that there was “no way that the jury can evaluate whether [the defendant] made a misrepresentation or an omission of a material fact.” Later, defense counsel further argued: “[T]he state has to prove that [the defendant] said A, B, and C, but left out D, E, and F. And that had D, E, and F been disclosed, then the situation would have been different. In other
Having based much of his case on contending that the defendant had not omitted any material fact, it defies logic to presume that defense counsel wanted the jury to have a less stringent definition of material fact before them as they deliberated. We are therefore left with two possible explanations for why defense counsel failed to object to the improper definition of material fact included in the jury charge: (1) gamesmanship, specifically, a desire to create a ground for appeal by building error into the trial; or (2) mere inadvertence. As I previously stated in State v. Kitchens, supra, 299 Conn. 522 (Katz, J., concurring), any defense attorney who made such a choice out of gamesmanship would be both incompetent and unethical — incompetent because appellate court reversals of convictions based on Golding review of instructional errors are extremely rare,
Because this court is bound to presume that, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, attorneys act both ethically and competently; see id., 520 (Katz, J., concurring);State v. Cator, 256 Conn. 785, 794, 781 A.2d 285 (2001); I am compelled to conclude that defense counsel’s failure to challenge the definition of materiality was merely inadvertent. Moreover, considering the in-depth discussion of the material fact element and the well established definition of a material fact, I would conclude that the trial court’s failure to provide that definition similarly was inadvertent. Pursuant to the majority’s decision, however, the defendant atone bears the consequence of a mistake that eluded both defense counsel and the trial court. Because Golding review was intended to provide an avenue for the review and correction of precisely the type of unintended mistake evident in this case, I cannot join the majority in foreclosing access to that review through a finding of waiver.
Accordingly, I dissent.
Until the majority’s recent evisceration of this doctrine, pursuant to Golding, a defendant could prevail on an unpreserved claim if: “(1) the record is adequate to review the alleged claim of error; (2) the claim is of constitutional magnitude alleging the violation of a fundamental right; (3) the alleged constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived the
W. Shakespeare, Henry V, act 3, sc. 1.
See Buell Industries, Inc. v. Greater New York Mutual Ins. Co., 259 Conn. 527, 556, 791 A.2d 489 (2002) (“[a] material fact has been defined adequately and simply as a fact which will make a difference in the result of the case” [internal quotation marks omitted]).
“From January 1, 2000, to May 5, 2010, this court considered approximately 140 criminal appeals in which a defendant requested Golding review, not including cases in which the court determined that the defendant was entitled to other types of appellate review. Of those 140 cases, approximately 70 involved claims for Golding review of instructional errors, in which the court found reversible error in only 6 cases.
“During the same period, the Appellate Court considered approximately 550 criminal appeals in which a defendant requested Golding review or the court, sua sponte, engaged in Golding review, not including cases in which the court determined that another legal framework governed its review. Of those 550 cases, approximately 250 involved claims for Golding review of instructional error, and the court found reversible error in only 17 cases.” State v. Kitchens, supra, 299 Conn. 522 n.17 (Katz, J., concurring).
The sole certified question on appeal is: “Did the Appellate Court properly determine that the defendant had waived her claim of error regarding a jury instruction?” State v. Mungroo, 291 Conn. 907, 969 A.2d 172 (2009). Accordingly, I decline to review the state’s alternate ground for affirmance that it was not reasonably possible that the jury was misled by the improper definition of material fact. See State v. Hammond, 257 Conn. 610, 614-15 n.9, 778 A.2d 108 (2001) (declining to review alternate ground for affirmance that was not question certified for appeal). Instead, I would reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court and remand the case to that court for consideration of the defendant’s claim pursuant to State v. Golding, supra, 213 Conn. 239-40.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. I agree with all of the substantive points that Justice Katz raises in her dissent. For the reasons set forth therein, as well as for the reasons set forth in her concurrence in State v. Kitch
Reference
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- State of Connecticut v. Nazra Mungroo
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