- State v. Pires (dissenting)
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****************************************************** The officially released date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the officially released date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the officially released date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** STATE v. PIRES DISSENT FLYNN, C. J., dissenting. I respectfully dissent. The majority opinion accurately sets forth the facts of this case, so I need not recite them again except to say that while the defendant, Michael D. Pires, Sr., was represented by an attorney, on December 20, 2005, the attorney informed the court that outside of the courtroom, the defendant indicate[s] now that he wishes to represent himself in this matter. In my opinion that was an unequivocal request made under Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S. Ct. 2525, 45 L. Ed. 2d 562 (1975). If there was any doubt about that, it was incumbent on the court to elicit that elevated degree of clarity through a detailed inquiry. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Flanagan, 293 Conn. 406, 424, 978 A.2d 64 (2009). I recognize that the trial court in this case did not have the benefit of our Supreme Court s decision in Flanagan at the time the defendant made his request for self-representation. Nonetheless, the request was clear enough to trigger the court s obligation to canvass the defendant in accordance with Practice Book § 44-3. I realize that this places an additional trial management burden on the court, but the right of self-representation is an important civil right guaranteed to all citizens by both the state and federal constitutions, which the Flanagan court found to be structural, requiring a new trial when a Practice Book § 44-3 canvass has not been made. For the foregoing reasons, I would reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the matter for a new trial. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
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