State v. Aponte

The defendant, Nissa Aponte, appealed to the Appellate Court from the judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, of two counts of assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (1) and two counts of risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21. Following the decision of the Appellate Court affirming the judgment of conviction; State v. Aponte, 50 Conn. App. 114, 718 A.2d 36 (1998); the defendant successfully sought certification on two of the issues decided by that court. State v. Aponte, 247 Conn. 926, 719 A.2d 1169 (1998). We conclude that the actions of the prosecutor in giving the victim a Barney doll prior to her testifying, along with the trial courts limitations on the defendants ability to expose to the jury the impact that such conduct may have had on her testimony, harmfully deprived the defendant of due process in connection with one of the assault convictions.