State v. Benson
Syllabus
The defendant appealed from the trial court's judgment rendered in accor- dance with his pleas of guilty to, inter alia, the crimes of possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, and failure to appear in the first degree. He claimed, inter alia, that the court violated his right to self-representation under the sixth amendment to the United States constitution by failing to canvass him pursuant to the rule of practice (§ 44-3) after he clearly and unequivocally asserted that he wanted to represent himself. Held: The defendant's unpreserved claim that the trial court violated his constitu- tional right to self-representation by failing to canvass him pursuant to Practice Book § 44-3 failed under the third prong of State v. Golding (213 Conn. 233), as the defendant's isolated statement, when viewed in context and considering the totality of the circumstances surrounding the request, was not a clear and unequivocal invocation of his right to self-representation, obligating the court to conduct a canvass. Argued June 5—officially released October 7, 2025
Opinion Excerpt
************************************************ The “officially released” date that appears near the beginning of an opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it is released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for the filing of postopin- ion motions and petitions for certification is the “offi- cially released” date appearing in the opinion. All opinions are subject to modification and technical cor