State v. Jean-Baptiste

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State v. Jean-Baptiste

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. OLES JEAN-BAPTISTE
(AC 46260)
Bright, C. J., and Alvord and DiPentima, Js.

Syllabus

The defendant, who had been convicted, following a jury trial, of the crimes
of larceny in the third degree, assault of public safety personnel, and
interfering with an officer, appealed to this court, claiming that his sixth
amendment right to counsel was violated by the trial court’s alleged
inadequate response to his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel
during the trial. Held that the record was inadequate to review the
defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal
to this court: the proper vehicle for the defendant to litigate his claim
of ineffective assistance of counsel was a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus, and this court was unable to review, on the basis of the record
before it, whether defense counsel’s decisions not to object to the intro-
duction of a police officer’s body camera recording or to obtain a medical
expert constituted ineffective assistance, as opposed to sound trial strat-
egy, as the record did not reflect what other defenses or courses of
action defense counsel considered, what options, if any, were available
to him, how he concluded that a medical expert would not be helpful,
or whether a medical expert’s testimony would have, in fact, been helpful
to the defense; moreover, because the defendant asked this court to
review two specific allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel, while
maintaining that he was not waiving any other ineffective assistance of
counsel claims that he might assert against his defense counsel in a
later habeas corpus proceeding, a review of the defendant’s claims at
this stage would result in a piecemeal resolution of the defendant’s
ineffective assistance of counsel claims in the event that the defendant
pursued additional claims in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus;
furthermore, the duty the defendant sought to impose on the trial court
would have required the court to make a qualitative judgment of defense
counsel’s performance throughout the trial proceedings, and an inquiry
into defense counsel’s strategy for the matter proceeding before the
court risked interfering with the defendant’s right to counsel and the
attorney-client relationship.

Argued May 22—officially released July 16, 2024

Procedural History

Substitute information charging the defendant with
the crimes of larceny in the third degree, assault of
public safety personnel and interfering with an officer,
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of
New London, geographical area number twenty-one,
and tried to the jury before K. Murphy, J.; verdict and
judgment of guilty, from which the defendant appealed
to this court. Affirmed.
Gary A. Mastronardi, assigned counsel, for the
appellant (defendant).
Danielle Koch, assistant state’s attorney, with whom,
on the brief, were Paul Narducci, state’s attorney, and
Adam Scott, supervisory assistant state’s attorney, for
the appellee (state).
Opinion

ALVORD, J. The defendant, Oles Jean-Baptiste,
appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered fol-
lowing a jury trial, of larceny in the third degree in
violation of General Statutes § 53a-124 (a) (1), assault of
public safety personnel in violation of General Statutes
§ 53a-167c (a) (1), and interfering with an officer in
violation of General Statutes § 53a-167a (a). On appeal,
the defendant claims that his sixth amendment right to
counsel was violated by the trial court’s alleged inade-
quate response to his claims of ineffective assistance
of counsel.1 We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The jury reasonably could have found the following
facts. On the afternoon of March 2, 2020, the Norwich
Police Department received a call from Kenneth Wilder
reporting the theft of his pink scooter, which was miss-
ing its seat. Officer Ryan Froehlich was dispatched to
investigate the theft. The dispatcher described the
scooter as missing its seat and further stated that the
1
In his principal appellate brief, the defendant also claimed that (1) the
trial court committed plain error in allowing the state to offer into evidence
an audio-video exhibit with content that was brutal, shocking, highly inflam-
matory, and unduly prejudicial to the defendant, and (2) there was insuffi-
cient evidence to sustain his conviction for larceny. In his reply brief, how-
ever, the defendant expressly withdrew both of those claims.
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

suspect would be pushing the scooter because it was
not operable. Officer Froehlich set out to the dispatched
location and engaged the cruiser’s siren, which auto-
matically activated his cruiser and body cameras.
While driving to the dispatched location, Officer
Froehlich noticed two people on the opposite side of the
street with a pink scooter that matched the description
provided by dispatch. One of the individuals, Bob Rodri-
guez, was driving a separate scooter. At the same time,
the defendant was straddling both Rodriguez’ moving
scooter and the pink scooter, which he was towing by
controlling its handlebars. Officer Froehlich activated
the cruiser’s emergency lights and pulled over directly
in front of them.
Rodriguez and the defendant stopped when Officer
Froehlich got out of the cruiser, and they moved to the
shoulder of the roadway at Officer Froehlich’s request.
Officer Froehlich asked the two men if the pink scooter
was theirs. The defendant replied that it belonged to a
friend. Because Officer Froehlich was the only officer
present and the defendant was walking backward
toward the wood line, Officer Froehlich asked the
defendant to be seated. The defendant did not sit down
and responded, ‘‘I’m not a dog.’’ Officer Froehlich subse-
quently attempted to handcuff the defendant. The
defendant then started actively to avoid him.
A physical struggle between the defendant and Offi-
cer Froehlich ensued. The defendant scratched,
punched, and bit Officer Froehlich. Officer Froehlich
struck the defendant several times and tried to tase the
defendant twice but was unable to do so successfully
due to the defendant’s clothing. During the struggle,
Sergeant Harry Formiglio arrived at the scene. Both
officers were able to control the defendant’s arms while
waiting for other officers’ assistance. The officers then
handcuffed the defendant, and he went limp as the
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

officers were bringing him to the cruiser. Once inside
the cruiser, the defendant kept his legs outside of the
vehicle, and the officers used a stun gun to get his legs
inside and close the door.

Officer Froehlich was taken to a hospital. There, he
was treated for the injuries he sustained during the
incident. In addition, Officer Froehlich was treated for
asthma and potential exposure to blood-borne patho-
gens.

The defendant was transported by Officer Matthew
Seidel, who was equipped with a body camera. As he
was being transported to police headquarters, the
defendant screamed at Officer Seidel. Specifically, the
defendant threatened to kill Officer Seidel’s family and
he repeatedly described sexual acts he was going to
perform on Officer Seidel and his family. Upon arriving
at the police department headquarters, the officers
there determined that the defendant needed medical
attention.

Officer Seidel accompanied the defendant in the
ambulance that transported the defendant from the
police headquarters to a hospital.2 The defendant con-
tinued yelling and making threatening remarks at the
police headquarters, in the ambulance, and at the hospi-
tal.

The defendant subsequently was charged with lar-
ceny in the third degree, assault of public safety person-
nel, and interfering with an officer.
2
At the hospital, the defendant was evaluated by a psychiatric clinician
who determined that ‘‘psychiatric hospitalization’’ was not required. Another
doctor stated that, ‘‘[a]s best as can be ascertained, there is a limited psychiat-
ric history with some brief outpatient care and no current care.’’ However,
the doctor reported that, ‘‘[o]f note is that the patient had been drinking
. . . and urine toxicology was positive for cannabinoids and cocaine, which
may have exacerbated his rage.’’
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

The following procedural history is relevant to our
resolution of this appeal. Attorney Richard Perry repre-
sented the defendant in the criminal proceedings. The
defendant entered not guilty pleas on all charges, and
the jury trial took place over the course of three days
from September 7 through 9, 2022.
On the first day of evidence, before the swearing in
of the jury, the defendant engaged in a discussion with
the court regarding his legal representation. Specifi-
cally, he expressed his concerns about Attorney Perry
during the following exchange:
‘‘The Defendant: So, first of all, I had requested for
Mr. Perry to give me a social worker, a private, because
I’ve had bad experiences with the ones that work inside
for the court. Secondly, I had asked for a private investi-
gator. And I also asked for a private expert and he didn’t
give me those.
‘‘The Court: Okay, let me take them one at [a] time.
What’s the purpose in getting a social worker in this
case?
‘‘The Defendant: Because I’ve had bad experiences
with the lawyers. I just want to be able to speak to the
social worker.
‘‘The Court: Okay, what about the private investiga-
tor? What—what’s—what was the purpose in having a
private investigator?
‘‘The Defendant: Judge, it’s not for me only. If I’m
going to trial, I want an expert, I mean, investigation
that can explain what’s happened. Because I want the
footage from the body camera that was on the police
officer. So, I want an expert. I want an investigator that
could explain exactly what happened.
‘‘The Court: Okay, all right. Attorney Perry, my under-
standing is that the public defender’s office does have
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

an investigator. Do you have an investigator that’s avail-
able for you if you wish?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: We do, Your Honor, and she did
work on the case. And we do have a social worker who
went to the jail last week to meet with [the defendant].
‘‘The Court: Okay. And I don’t want to get into any
strategy or anything regarding this potential expert, but
did you look into the issue of whether an expert would
be beneficial to [the defendant] in this case?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: Your Honor, I did and I felt that
it would not be justified.
‘‘The Court: Okay, all right. Well, Mr. Jean-Baptiste,
I hear what you’re saying and you have created a record.
You’ve protected yourself, if there’s an issue down
the road.’’
After the jury was sworn in, the prosecutor presented
the testimony of three witnesses and offered into evi-
dence several exhibits. During Officer Froehlich’s testi-
mony, the prosecutor offered into evidence a flash drive
containing several audio and video recordings, includ-
ing the victim’s 911 call, radio interactions between
officers and dispatch, cruiser camera footage, and body
camera footage of several officers. Attorney Perry did
not object to the exhibit, and it was admitted in full as
exhibit 1.3
The defendant then interjected, and the court
excused the jury. The defendant explained: ‘‘This lawyer
that’s here, when you ask him if he objects, he doesn’t
say anything. There’s always evidence that’s being pre-
sented here. He was supposed to let me see it too. I
haven’t seen anything yet. . . . [B]y right, this lawyer
to show me all the exhibits before they’re presented—
3
Initially, the flash drive was admitted in full as a single exhibit, exhibit
1. Later during the trial, the contents of the flash drive were separated into
exhibits 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d.
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

before it’s presented to the jury. Because I made a
request with him before, he refused all my requests.
One time again, this lawyer is . . . ineffective on the
case.’’ After engaging in a discussion with the defendant
regarding courtroom procedures, the court addressed
Attorney Perry:
‘‘The Court: [The defendant] has not seen this or has
not seen all of this?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: I don’t believe he’s seen this,
Your Honor.
‘‘The Court: Okay. You have seen this though?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: Yes.
‘‘The Court: Okay. All right. Then, I’ll ask the state
to play the whole thing for—everything on there.
***
‘‘[The Prosecutor]: To watch every single video on
the tape, it will take hours.
‘‘The Court: Attorney Perry, was [the defendant] given
the opportunity to listen and watch this video on an
earlier date?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: Your Honor, I believe I’m the
fourth attorney on this case.4 I’m not sure what the
prior attorneys did. We discussed the video and [I] don’t
want to get into my particular trial tactics, but I did not
feel that it was necessary for him and I to go over the
video. That was not part of my—my plan and I thought
that had been made clear to my client. . . .
‘‘The Defendant: . . . I’ve been through five lawyers
already for this. He is number six. . . . I’ve asked . . .
since March 2 to provide me the evidence.
4
At that time, Attorney Perry was the sixth attorney within two and one-
half years to represent the defendant.
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‘‘The Court: All right. Here’s what I’m gonna do. I
don’t want to waste the jury’s time or counsel’s time.
The exhibit has already been admitted as a full exhibit.
The state has the opportunity to publish the exhibit to
the jury. Mr. Jean-Baptiste, you will have an opportunity
to review—watch the video and listen to the audio, take
notes, talk to your attorney and I will, if necessary, if
your attorney needs more time, if you need more time
to talk to your attorney, we will take a break after
the conclusion of this witness’ testimony so that your
attorney can prepare for a cross-examination, including
examination of the exhibit.’’ (Footnote added.)
After the jury returned, the prosecutor played the 911
call audio recording, continued his direct examination
of Officer Froehlich, and published photographs of Offi-
cer Froehlich’s injuries and the pink scooter, among
other images, to the jury. Before adjourning for the day
and after excusing the jury, the court allowed the parties
to remain in the courtroom to give the defendant the
opportunity to view exhibit 1.
The following day of the trial, the defendant reiter-
ated that he had concerns with Attorney Perry. The
defendant then decided that he did not want to be
present for the trial and voluntarily went to the court-
house lockup for the remainder of the proceedings.
After the jury returned, the prosecutor completed his
direct examination of Officer Froehlich, and he played
for the jury the radio calls, Officer Froehlich’s cruiser
camera footage, and Officer Froehlich’s body camera
footage. Attorney Perry then conducted his cross-exam-
ination.
The state also presented the testimony of Officer
Seidel. During his direct examination of Officer Seidel,
the prosecutor began playing for the jury exhibit 1d.
See footnote 3 of this opinion. This exhibit contained
the audio and video footage from Officer Seidel’s body
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

camera, which recorded the entirety of his interaction
with the defendant during the defendant’s transporta-
tion in the cruiser to the police headquarters and his
transportation in the ambulance to the hospital. Twelve
minutes and fifty seconds into the video, the court
instructed the prosecutor to turn off the video and
excused the jury. The court expressed concern with
respect to the strong language and ‘‘whether the mate-
rial being provided would be considered other crimes,
evidence and whether the court should be entering
some type of limiting instruction or limiting the intro-
duction of the exhibit . . . .’’ The court then asked the
prosecutor to state the relevance of the exhibit. The
prosecutor responded that the defendant’s behavior as
shown on the video was relevant to intent. The court
then inquired of Attorney Perry whether he had any
objection to the exhibit.
The following exchange occurred:
‘‘The Court: Obviously, you’ve had a chance to hear
this before. Is that right?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: That’s correct, Your Honor. I did
view this video earlier.
‘‘The Court: Okay. And your—still your position is
you’re not objecting to the admission of this exhibit.
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: I would like to say this, Your
Honor. I agree with the court that it may not be relevant.
However, I believe that this may be helpful to my client’s
case in that it will show that he could not form the
intent to commit these crimes.
‘‘The Court: Okay. So, at this point you’re not making
any motion either to exclude it or limit it or anything
like that?
‘‘[Defense Counsel]: No, Your Honor.’’
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The jury returned, and the prosecutor resumed play-
ing the video.5 The prosecutor then presented the testi-
mony of Officer Benjamin Sawaryn and introduced into
evidence a series of pictures, a property receipt, part
of a Norwich Police Department arrest report, and a
statement of the value of the pink scooter. Defense
counsel called no witnesses. During his closing argu-
ment, Attorney Perry relied on exhibit 1d in arguing:
‘‘[T]o have [the required] intent, [the defendant] would
have had to have a rational thought process. And you
yourselves saw the tapes that were presented yesterday
and the day before. The question that you have to
answer is did this person have the ability to make a
decision such as that in the state that he was in. Now,
that’s the key element here.’’

The jury found the defendant guilty on all three
counts. The court, K. Murphy, J., sentenced the defen-
dant to a total effective sentence of ten years of incar-
ceration, execution suspended after seven years, fol-
lowed by three years of probation. This appeal
followed.

On appeal, the defendant claims that the court failed
to ‘‘adequately inquire into defense counsel’s reasons
(i) for not objecting to the admissibility of [exhibit] 1d,
and (ii) for failing to retain a medical expert,’’ and, in
doing so, ‘‘improperly countenanced obvious ineffec-
tive assistance of counsel and breached its duty to main-
tain the integrity of the judicial proceedings’’ in violation
of the defendant’s sixth amendment right to counsel.
Because the defendant’s claim rests on his assertion
5
After Officer Seidel’s testimony, the court instructed the jury: ‘‘The state
has offered evidence of other acts of misconduct of the defendant. This
[is] not being admitted to prove the bad character, propensity or criminal
tendencies of the defendant. Such evidence is being admitted solely to
show or establish the defendant’s intent and to some extent the defendant’s
knowledge of the English language. . . .’’
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

that Attorney Perry rendered ‘‘visible ineffective assis-
tance,’’ ‘‘a review of how and when ineffective assis-
tance of counsel claims typically are addressed by our
courts informs our analysis of the [defendant’s] claims.
A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is more
properly pursued on . . . a petition for a writ of habeas
corpus rather than on direct appeal . . . [because]
[t]he trial transcript seldom discloses all of the consider-
ations of strategy that may have induced counsel to
follow a particular course of action. . . . [A] habeas
proceeding provides a superior forum for the review
of a claim of ineffective assistance because it provides
the opportunity for an evidentiary hearing in which
the attorney whose conduct is challenged may testify
regarding the reasons [for the challenged actions]. . . .
A habeas proceeding thus enables the court to deter-
mine whether counsel’s [deficiency] was due to mere
incompetence or to counsel’s trial strategy, which
would not be possible in a direct appeal in which there
is no possibility of an evidentiary hearing.’’ (Citation
omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Banks v.
Commissioner of Correction, 225 Conn. App. 234, 244,
314 A.3d 1052 (2024).

‘‘[O]n the rare occasions that [our Supreme Court has]
addressed an ineffective assistance of counsel claim on
direct appeal, [it has] limited [its] review to allegations
that the defendant’s sixth amendment rights had been
jeopardized by the actions of the trial court, rather than
by those of his counsel. . . . [The court has] addressed
such claims, moreover, only where the record of the
trial court’s allegedly improper action was adequate for
review or the issue presented was a question of law, not
one of fact requiring further evidentiary development.’’
(Emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omit-
ted.) State v. Taft, 306 Conn. 749, 768, 51 A.3d 988
(2012).
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

The defendant maintains that this case presents one
of those rare occasions when an ineffective assistance
of counsel claim can be reviewed by this court on direct
appeal. First, the defendant argues that ‘‘[t]he trial court
record in this case is chock full of instances which,
viewed individually or collectively, were more than ade-
quate to ‘alert’ the trial judge that defense counsel was
not providing effective assistance to his client.’’ The
state responds that an evidentiary proceeding would
be necessary to permit review of the defendant’s claim
because Attorney Perry’s ‘‘explanations for his trial
strategy are absent’’ and the court could not have
inquired further due to attorney-client privilege. In his
reply brief, the defendant reiterates that Attorney Per-
ry’s deficient performance is so clear from the record
before the trial court that further evidentiary proceed-
ings are unnecessary. The defendant states that the
trial record sufficiently exhibits both ‘‘the purported
‘strategic’ reason underlying [Attorney Perry’s] choice
not to object to the admission of [exhibit 1d]’’ and the
‘‘shortcomings [that] should have been ‘red flags’ to the
trial judge which, at minimum, should have alerted the
court’’ to Attorney Perry’s lack of preparedness, particu-
larly with respect to obtaining a medical expert.6 We
conclude that the record is inadequate to review the
defendant’s claim on direct appeal.
‘‘To succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel, a habeas petitioner must satisfy the two-
pronged test articulated in Strickland v. Washington,
6
The defendant argues that the alleged ineffective assistance of his counsel
in the form of failure to present the testimony of a medical expert should
have been apparent to the trial court, noting that the trial court had presided
over a competency hearing during which evidence of a psychiatric disorder
was presented. The defendant contends that the psychiatric testimony ‘‘could
have, and should have, [been] offered—as a plausible explanation not only
for the highly prejudicial content of [exhibit 1d] but also for the defendant’s
sudden, violent, overreactive response to the attempt by Officer Froehlich
to handcuff him.’’
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

[466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674
(1984)]. Strickland requires that a petitioner satisfy
both a performance prong and a prejudice prong. To
satisfy the performance prong, a claimant must demon-
strate that counsel made errors so serious that counsel
was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed . . . by
the [s]ixth [a]mendment. . . . To satisfy the prejudice
prong, a claimant must demonstrate that there is a rea-
sonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofes-
sional errors, the result of the proceeding would have
been different. . . . Because both prongs . . . must
be established for a habeas petitioner to prevail, a court
may [deny] a petitioner’s claim if he fails to meet either
prong. . . .
‘‘Our Supreme Court has stated that to establish defi-
cient performance by counsel, a [petitioner] must show
that, considering all of the circumstances, counsel’s
representation fell below an objective standard of rea-
sonableness as measured by prevailing professional
norms. . . . [T]here is a strong presumption in favor
of concluding that counsel’s performance was compe-
tent. . . . In order to overcome that presumption, the
[defendant] bears the burden of proving that counsel’s
representation fell below an objective standard of rea-
sonableness. . . . [T]he performance inquiry must be
whether counsel’s assistance was reasonable consider-
ing all the circumstances. . . . Thus, the question of
whether counsel’s behavior was objectively unreason-
able is not only one on which the [defendant] bears the
burden of proof; its resolution turns on a fact intensive
inquiry.’’ (Citations omitted; emphasis in original; inter-
nal quotation marks omitted.) Banks v. Commissioner
of Correction, supra, 225 Conn. App. 246.
Furthermore, our Supreme Court has emphasized
that an ‘‘ineffective assistance claim should be resolved,
not in piecemeal fashion, but as a totality after an evi-
dentiary hearing in the trial court where the attorney
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

whose conduct is in question may have an opportunity
to testify.’’ State v. Leecan, 198 Conn. 517, 542, 504 A.2d
480, cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1184, 106 S. Ct. 2922, 91 L.
Ed. 2d 550 (1986). Relatedly, in State v. Jose V., 157
Conn. App. 393, 116 A.3d 833, cert. denied, 317 Conn.
916, 117 A.3d 854 (2015), this court further explained
that, ‘‘[a]lthough the record may reflect the actions of
defense counsel during the [underlying] proceeding, we
do not know all of the reasons for those actions. . . .
All of the relevant circumstances are not known. Our
role . . . is not to guess at possibilities, but to review
claims based on a complete factual record developed
by a trial court. Without a hearing in which the reasons
for counsel’s decision may be elicited, any decision
of ours . . . would be entirely speculative.’’ (Internal
quotation marks omitted.) Id., 405–406.
In the present case, the proper vehicle for the defen-
dant to litigate his claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel is a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. We
cannot review, on the basis of the record before us,
the claim raised in this direct appeal, which concerns
whether Attorney Perry’s actions, namely, his decisions
not to object to exhibit 1d or obtain a medical expert,
constituted ineffective assistance, as opposed to sound
trial strategy. See Banks v. Commissioner of Correc-
tion, supra, 225 Conn. App. 247 (rejecting petitioner’s
claim that would require court to presume counsel’s
assistance was unreasonable, which ‘‘would be contrary
to the presumption of competence’’). As for Attorney
Perry’s decision not to object to exhibit 1d, the record
is inadequate in that it contains only a brief exchange
in which Attorney Perry indicated that the exhibit ‘‘may
be helpful to [his] client’s case’’ and that ‘‘it w[ould]
show that [the defendant] could not form the intent to
commit these crimes’’ and evidence of how Attorney
Perry sought to implement that strategy in his closing
argument. The record does not reflect what other
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

defenses or courses of action Attorney Perry considered
or what options, if any, were available to him. Similarly,
the record is inadequate to evaluate Attorney Perry’s
decision not to obtain a medical expert. Attorney Perry,
in response to the court’s inquiry, stated that he had
considered whether an expert would be beneficial and
‘‘felt that it would not be justified.’’7 He did not explain
how he came to that conclusion. Furthermore, the
record before us contains no information on whether
a medical expert’s testimony would have been helpful to
the defense. Without an evidentiary proceeding during
which the defendant and the state, or the Commissioner
of Correction, would have the opportunity to present
evidence and the trial court could make credibility
determinations and factual findings based on that evi-
dence, the record is inadequate to review the defen-
dant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim. See, e.g.,
State v. Campbell, 328 Conn. 444, 468 n.7, 180 A.3d 882
(2018) (‘‘[t]he defendant’s ineffective assistance claim
is precisely the type of collateral attack that is best
resolved in a habeas action, where the defendant will
have the opportunity to present evidence in support of
his claim that his counsel’s performance was deficient
and that he was prejudiced by that deficient perfor-
mance’’).
Furthermore, contrary to well settled law, the defen-
dant is asking this court to review two specific allega-
tions of ineffective assistance of counsel, while main-
taining that he is not waiving any other ineffective
7
Additionally, we note that, although our Supreme Court has recognized
that a court may address an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where
‘‘the issue presented was a question of law, not one of fact requiring further
evidentiary development’’; State v. Taft, supra, 306 Conn. 768; the defendant
in the present case asks this court to evaluate Attorney Perry’s alleged
deficient performance and strategic decisions and the trial court’s response.
These inquiries are fact intensive, requiring further evidentiary development.
See Banks v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 225 Conn. App. 246 (reso-
lution of question of whether counsel’s behavior was objectively unreason-
able turns on fact intensive inquiry).
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

assistance of counsel claims that he might assert against
Attorney Perry in a later habeas corpus proceeding.
Consequently, reviewing the defendant’s claim at this
stage would result in a piecemeal resolution of the
defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims, in
the event that the defendant pursues additional claims
in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See State v.
Leecan, supra, 198 Conn. 542 (ineffective assistance of
counsel claims should not be resolved in piecemeal
fashion).
The defendant attempts to avoid the above prece-
dents by arguing that he is really challenging the inac-
tion of the trial court, as opposed to asserting a direct
claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. He maintains
that the trial court ‘‘was under a duty to protect both
the defendant’s constitutional right to counsel and the
integrity of the court by inquiring into the basis for
defense counsel’s highly questionable decision not to
object to the admissibility of exhibit 1d.’’8 In Banks v.
Commissioner of Correction, supra, 225 Conn. App.
238–39, the petitioner’s attorney declined the opportu-
nity to present evidence demonstrating good cause for
the untimely filing of his habeas petition during a show
cause hearing. On appeal, the petitioner argued that the
habeas court had an obligation to intervene based on
the attorney’s ‘‘ ‘patently ineffective’ ’’ assistance. Id.,
244. Specifically, ‘‘the petitioner request[ed] that we
recognize a new duty for the [court] to step in whenever
it appears that counsel has no strategic reason for failing
to pursue a certain course of action.’’ Id., 252. This court
stated that, ‘‘[i]n the absence of any persuasive, let alone
8
The defendant further contends that, ‘‘in the absence of any reasonable
and competent responses by defense counsel to these critical court inquiries,
the judge was required to ensure the defendant’s sixth amendment right to
competent counsel and was duty bound to protect the integrity of the judicial
proceedings by (1) at the very least, refusing, sua sponte, to admit exhibit
1d; while (2) strongly considering, and probably actually declaring, sua
sponte, a mistrial.’’
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18 ,0 0 Conn. App. 1
State v. Jean-Baptiste

binding, authority to support the petitioner’s con-
tention, we decline to do so.’’ Id.

We similarly are not persuaded by the defendant’s
argument in the present case. As succinctly stated by
the court in Banks, there exists no binding nor persua-
sive authority supporting the defendant’s claim. Id. The
defendant cites several decisions of the United States
Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals in arguing
that a trial court has a duty to act sua sponte when the
trial court is alerted to an obvious sixth amendment
violation.9 Most of the cited decisions are not applicable
in that they involve conflicts of interest. ‘‘Making a
qualitative judgment as to counsel’s performance during
the proceeding in which the alleged ineffective assis-
tance is occurring is fundamentally different than . . .
inquiring into an apparent conflict of interest . . .
because evaluating counsel’s performance would
require that the court inquire as to counsel’s strategy
for the matter that is still proceeding before the court.
The problem with that line of inquiry is that the trial
court risks interfering with the defendant’s right to
counsel and the attorney-client relationship if the court
asks counsel, during trial, for a full explanation of his
9
Specifically, the defendant cites Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 347,
100 S. Ct. 1708, 64 L. Ed. 2d 333 (1980) (asserting that duty to inquire exists
when ‘‘the trial court knows or reasonably should know that a particular
conflict [of interest] exists,’’ in which case trial court should ‘‘initiate an
inquiry’’); United States v. Sands, 968 F.2d 1058, 1066 (10th Cir. 1992) (citing
United States v. McCord, 509 F.2d 334, 352 n.65 (D.C. Cir. 1974), cert. denied,
421 U.S. 930, 95 S. Ct. 1656, 44 L. Ed. 2d 87 (1975)), cert. denied, 506 U.S.
1056, 113 S. Ct. 987, 122 L. Ed. 2d 139 (1993); United States v. McCord,
supra, 352 and n.65 (finding that when claims of ineffective assistance of
counsel based on existing conflict of interest ‘‘arise at trial, the better [prac-
tice] is for the trial judge to immediately conduct an inquiry into the bases
for the claim if it is at all colorable’’); United States v. DeCoster, 487 F.2d
1197, 1200 n.4 (D.C. Cir. 1973) (reiterating, in context of defendant’s plea
of guilty, that judges should strive ‘‘to maintain proper standards of perfor-
mance by attorneys who are representing defendants in criminal cases’’
(internal quotation marks omitted)).
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State v. Jean-Baptiste

strategy. . . . Indeed, that is why, in circumstances in
which defense counsel’s [conduct] . . . constitutes a
violation of the defendant’s right to the effective assis-
tance of counsel, the defendant may seek recourse
through habeas corpus proceedings.’’ (Citations omit-
ted; emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omit-
ted.) Banks v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 225
Conn. App. 253.
The duty the defendant seeks to impose on the trial
court would have required the court to make a qualita-
tive judgment of Attorney Perry’s performance through-
out the trial proceedings. As the court noted in Banks,
an inquiry into counsel’s strategy for the matter pro-
ceeding before the court ‘‘risks interfering with the
defendant’s right to counsel and the attorney-client rela-
tionship . . . .’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id.
The trial court in the present case expressly noted this
concern. Accordingly, we are not persuaded by the
defendant’s argument that the trial court had a duty to
inquire further as to Attorney Perry’s courses of action
with respect to a medical expert and exhibit 1d.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.