State v. Fisher

342 Conn. 239

269 A.3d 104

STATE of Connecticut

v.Melinda Chantea FISHER

SC 20559

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued October 22, 2021

Officially released February 10, 2022^*

James B. Streeto, senior assistant public defender, for the appellant (defendant).

Denise B. Smoker, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Brian W. Preleski, state's attorney, and Ronald Dearstyne, former senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

Robinson, C. J., and McDonald, D'Auria, Kahn, Ecker and Keller, Js.

KELLER, J.

The defendant, Melinda Chantea Fisher, appeals¹ from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of two counts of assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) (1).² The defendant claims that (1) there was insufficient evidence to sustain the jury's verdict of guilty of assault in the second degree,³ (2) the trial court erred in denying the defendant's request to cross-examine the victim more extensively regarding her civil action against the defendant, and (3) trial court erred in allowing a paramedic, testifying as a fact witness, to testify regarding symptoms of a concussion. We disagree with each of these claims and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The record reveals the following relevant facts, which the jury reasonably could have found, and procedural history. On April 21, 2016, the defendant had been employed as a technology assistant for the Southington public schools for approximately five weeks. That morning, she was assigned to work at South End Elementary School (school). Although she was supposed to report to work at 8 a.m., she did not arrive until around 8:15 a.m. due to a prior work commitment and because she was experiencing considerable dental pain. Upon arrival, the defendant went to the main office to get the key for the information technology laboratory (lab) but was told that her supervisor, Lura Terrace, the victim in this case, had the key. Melanie Krupinski, a second grade teacher at the school, saw the defendant outside the locked lab and offered to let her leave her things in Krupinski's classroom while she looked for the key to the lab. The defendant told Krupinski how angry and upset she was that her "boss"⁴ had insisted that she come to work, despite her dental pain. While speaking to Krupinski, the defendant appeared quite angry and stated that "she didn't want to see [the victim's] face."

After leaving Krupinski's classroom, the defendant found the victim in the hallway outside of the gymnasium. The victim asked the defendant if she had just arrived at work and advised her that, if she was having trouble getting to work on time, they could try to figure out a different work schedule for her. At that point, the defendant became "agitated" and, putting her face directly in the victim's face, stated that "she wasn't going to kill herself" to get to work on time. When the victim told the defendant to "get out of [her] face," the defendant responded by calling her a "fucking bitch" and punching her in the nose with her right fist. The defendant, who until this point had been holding a cup of coffee and a laptop in her left hand, threw the laptop to the ground, causing it to break, and then threw the cup of coffee at the victim. The victim tried to get away from the defendant, but the defendant pursued her down the hallway. When the defendant caught up with her, she began punching and scratching the victim, while the victim pleaded with her to stop. When the victim fell to the floor, the defendant grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head against a cinder block wall, causing the victim to black out. When the victim came to, the defendant was standing over her and repeatedly kicking her in the side.

Erin Nattrass, the school's principal, and Patrick J. Myers, a parent, witnessed the attack. Nattrass testified at trial that she was standing in a classroom doorway talking to a teacher when she saw the defendant pursuing the victim down the hallway. The victim was walking away from the defendant with her hands up, saying things like "[s]top, get away from me," but the defendant kept hitting her in her face, neck, and arms. When the victim fell to the ground, the defendant grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into the wall at least twice and then started kicking her. Although Nattrass attempted to intervene both verbally and physically, she was unable to stop the assault.

Myers, who was a paramedic, testified that he had just dropped off his son at preschool when he heard the defendant and the victim yelling at one another in the hallway and saw the defendant throw her coffee at the victim. As Myers approached the two women, the defendant threw the victim to the ground and started kicking her. Myers then saw the defendant bang the victim's head into the wall several times. Eventually, Myers was able to pull the defendant off the victim, at which point the defendant became compliant and cooperative.⁵ The defendant told Myers that she had done what she had done because "[the victim] was harassing her," "she was very sick and should not have been at work in the first place," and "she [was] working multiple jobs and [was] extremely tired."

After the assault, Nattrass helped the victim off the floor and escorted her to the nurse's office. There, Nattrass observed scratches on the victim's neck and chest, and blood on her ear. Nattrass then returned to where the defendant and Myers were waiting and asked them to accompany her to her office, which they did. When the police and paramedics arrived, the defendant was placed under arrest, and the victim, based on her injuries, was transported by ambulance to a hospital.

At the hospital, the victim was treated by Douglas Whipple, the supervising emergency room physician. Whipple's initial triage notes indicated that the victim was "very shaken up and ... crying," that she had "generalized achiness and facial discomfort," and that she denied loss of consciousness. Whipple ordered a computerized tomography scan to assess if there was bleeding or skull or facial fractures, which came back negative. Whipple nevertheless diagnosed the victim with a nondisplaced fracture of the right nasal bone at the junction with the maxilla and soft tissue swelling in the right infraorbital region. He instructed her to return to the hospital if her headache worsened or if she experienced vomiting or dizziness, all of which are symptoms of a "delayed bleed" or concussion. He also recommended that she follow up with a neurologist and not return to work.

That evening, the victim woke up with severe dizziness, vomiting, and a worsened headache. The next day, she visited her primary care physician, Pei Sun, informing Sun of the emergency room visit and about her symptoms, which included vomiting, dizziness, headache, and an inability to concentrate. Sun diagnosed the victim with a brain concussion, nausea, and a nasal fracture. When the victim returned to Sun for a follow-up visit on May 3, 2016, she was experiencing nausea, headaches, and new lower back pain, so Sun referred her to Kwame O. Asante, a head injury specialist at Hartford Hospital. The victim saw Asante on May 6, 2016, and, after performing a number of tests on her, including neurological, sensory, and cranial nerve accommodation examinations, Asante diagnosed the victim with severe postconcussion syndrome.

On the basis of the aforementioned events, the defendant was charged with one count of assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (1), one count of attempt to commit assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 (a) (2) and 53a-59 (a) (1), one count of assault in the first degree in violation of § 53a-59 (a) (2), two counts of assault in the second degree in violation of § 53a-60 (a) (1), and one count of assault in the second degree in violation of § 53a-60 (a) (2). A jury trial was held before the trial court. At the conclusion of the state's case-in-chief, the defendant filed motions for a judgment of acquittal as to all five charges, which the court denied.

At trial, the defendant testified in her own defense that it was never her intention to cause the victim serious physical injury. She explained that she was tired and in a great deal of physical pain when she arrived to work on the day in question. She further stated that, although she had been employed by the Southington public school district for only a brief period of time, she and the victim had already been in prior "verbal altercations," during which the victim called her "names" and was "very verbally abusive." The defendant also accused the victim of saying "mean things to other people" about her. The defendant testified that, when she found the victim in the hallway that morning, another verbal altercation ensued, during which the defendant became enraged. The defendant stated that she could not recall all of the details of what transpired during the altercation because she "blacked out" but that she was certain it was not her intention to disfigure the victim. Although the defendant admitted to wanting to hurt the victim during the altercation,⁶ she denied any recollection of kicking the victim or slamming her head against a wall.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the two counts of assault in the second degree in violation of § 53a-60 (a) (1) and not guilty on the remaining counts. On February 1, 2019, the trial court sentenced the defendant to a term of ten years of imprisonment, execution suspended after two and one-half years, and five years of probation. See footnote 3 of this opinion.

On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict of guilty of assault in the second degree, (2) the trial court erred in denying the defendant's request to cross-examine the victim more extensively regarding her civil action...