State v. Abramovich

************************************************
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
correction prior to official publication in the Connecti-
cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut
Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event
of discrepancies between the advance release version of
an opinion and the version appearing in the Connecti-
cut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut
Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest
version is to be considered authoritative.
The syllabus and procedural history accompanying
an opinion that appear in the Connecticut Law Jour-
nal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or
Connecticut Appellate Reports are copyrighted by the
Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may
not be reproduced or distributed without the express
written permission of the Commission on Official Legal
Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut.
************************************************
Page 0 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL 0, 0

2 ,0 0 Conn. App. 1
State v. Abramovich

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. MATTHEW
T. ABRAMOVICH
(AC 45351)
Elgo, Cradle and Prescott, Js.

Syllabus

Convicted, on pleas of guilty, of criminal trespass in the first degree, assault
in the third degree, and violation of a protective order, the defendant
appealed. He asked this court to allow him to withdraw his pleas, claiming,
inter alia, that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to
investigate his competence and to request a competency evaluation. Held:

This court declined to review the defendant’s unpreserved claims, as he
failed to move to withdraw his pleas in accordance with the applicable rules
of practice (§§ 39-26 and 39-27) and he failed to adequately brief the claims in
accordance with the mandates for the review of unpreserved constitutional
claims pursuant to State v. Golding (213 Conn. 233).

Argued September 9—officially released November 19, 2024

Procedural History

Information, in the first case, charging the defendant
with criminal trespass in the first degree, interfering
with an officer, breach of the peace in the second
degree, and assault in the third degree, and information
in the second case charging the defendant with criminal
trespass in the first degree and violation of a protective
order, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial
district of Waterbury, geographical area number four,
where the defendant was presented to the court, Ian-
notti, J., on pleas of guilty to one count each of criminal
trespass in the first degree, assault in the third degree,
and violation of a protective order; judgments of guilty
in accordance with the pleas; thereafter, the state
entered a nolle prosequi as to the remaining charges,
and the defendant appealed to this court. Affirmed.
Matthew T. Abramovich, self-represented, the appel-
lant (defendant).
0, 0 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 1

0 Conn. App. 1 ,0 3
State v. Abramovich

Timothy F. Costello, supervisory assistant state’s
attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Maureen Platt,
state’s attorney, and Elena Palermo and Marc Ramia,
senior assistant state’s attorneys, for the appellee
(state).

Opinion

CRADLE, J. The self-represented defendant, Matthew
T. Abramovich, appeals from the judgments of convic-
tion rendered by the trial court, following the defen-
dant’s guilty pleas, of assault in the third degree in
violation of General Statutes § 53a-61, violation of a
protective order in violation of General Statutes § 53a-
223, and criminal trespass in the first degree in violation
of General Statutes § 53a-107.1 On appeal, the defendant
asks this court to allow him to withdraw his guilty pleas
on the grounds that (1) he was not competent to plead
guilty; (2) his trial counsel rendered ineffective assis-
tance by failing to investigate his competence and to
request a competency evaluation pursuant to General
Statutes § 54-56d; (3) he was under duress at the time
of his pleas; (4) the court breached the plea agreement;
(5) the court failed to substantially comply with Practice
Book § 39-19 when it accepted the pleas; (6) the court
lacked a factual basis for the pleas; and (7) the court
relied on materially false information at sentencing. We
affirm the judgments of the trial court.
The following procedural history is relevant to the
defendant’s claims on appeal. The defendant pleaded
guilty in March, 2021, to charges of assault in the third
degree, violation of a protective order, and criminal
trespass in the first degree in connection with two 2020
domestic violence incidents involving the same com-
1
The defendant pleaded guilty to assault in the third degree under the
Alford doctrine. See North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 37, 91 S. Ct. 160,
27 L. Ed. 2d 162 (1970).
Page 2 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL 0, 0

4 ,0 0 Conn. App. 1
State v. Abramovich

plainant and occurring at the same apartment in Water-
bury. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the court, Ian-
notti, J., made a jail re-interview referral and the
defendant agreed to participate in inpatient treatment
and any recommended outpatient treatment for a period
of six months.2 The court explained that, if the defen-
dant completed the treatment program successfully, he
would receive a fully suspended sentence of two years
of incarceration followed by two years of probation.
If the defendant failed to successfully complete the
treatment program, he would face a maximum sentence
of eighteen months of incarceration with the right to
argue for a lesser period of incarceration.3 Specifically,
the court advised the defendant that, if he did not com-
plete the program successfully, he would be subject to
a sentence ‘‘between a totally suspended sentence and
eighteen months in jail.’’ At the time of the pleas, the
defendant responded affirmatively to the court’s ques-
tions regarding whether he had discussed the plea
agreement with his attorney, whether his attorney had
explained the maximum penalties of the charges to
which he was pleading, whether he understood the plea
agreement and whether the pleas were entered know-
ingly and voluntarily. He also answered negatively to
the court’s questions of whether he was under the influ-
ence of any alcohol, drugs or medication and whether
he was being forced or threatened to plead guilty. In
accordance with the plea agreement, the defendant was
released on a promise to appear, and the case was
continued pending the defendant’s completion of a resi-
2
The record reflects that the defendant was referred to a treatment pro-
gram for mental health issues and alcohol abuse.
3
Although neither the parties nor the court referred to the agreement as
such, the plea agreement in this case was a Garvin agreement, which ‘‘is
a conditional plea agreement that has two possible binding outcomes, one
that results from the defendant’s compliance with the conditions of the plea
agreement and one that is triggered by his violation of a condition of the
agreement.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Stevens, 278 Conn.
1, 7, 895 A.2d 771 (2006).
0, 0 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 3

0 Conn. App. 1 ,0 5
State v. Abramovich

dential treatment program at Connecticut Valley Hospi-
tal followed by outpatient treatment as recommended.
At that time, the court also ordered a presentence inves-
tigation.
On August 27, 2021, the court, Iannotti, J., received
a report that the defendant had failed to comply with
treatment program requirements. Accordingly, on
November 4, 2021, the court sentenced the defendant
to five years of incarceration, execution suspended
after one year, followed by three years of probation.
Neither the defendant nor his counsel objected to the
sentence at that time, nor did the defendant file a motion
to withdraw his guilty pleas. This appeal followed.
On appeal, the defendant asks this court to allow him
to withdraw his guilty pleas. The defendant did not
preserve his claims for review on appeal. Under our
rules of procedure, to preserve his claims after the
acceptance of his pleas, the defendant would have had
to move to withdraw the pleas pursuant to Practice
Book §§ 39-26 and 39-27. State v. Williams, 60 Conn.
App. 575, 577–78, 760 A.2d 948, cert. denied, 255 Conn.
922, 763 A.2d 1043 (2000).4
4
Practice Book § 39-26 provides: ‘‘A defendant may withdraw his or her
plea of guilty or nolo contendere as a matter of right until the plea has been
accepted. After acceptance, the judicial authority shall allow the defendant
to withdraw his or her plea upon proof of one of the grounds in Section
39-27. A defendant may not withdraw his or her plea after the conclusion
of the proceeding at which the sentence was imposed.’’
Practice Book § 39-27 provides: ‘‘The grounds for allowing the defendant
to withdraw his or her plea of guilty after acceptance are as follows:
‘‘(1) The plea was accepted without substantial compliance with Section
39-19;
‘‘(2) The plea was involuntary, or it was entered without knowledge of
the nature of the charge or without knowledge that the sentence actually
imposed could be imposed;
‘‘(3) The sentence exceeds that specified in a plea agreement which had
been previously accepted, or in a plea agreement on which the judicial
authority had deferred its decision to accept or reject the agreement at the
time the plea of guilty was entered;
‘‘(4) The plea resulted from the denial of effective assistance of counsel;
‘‘(5) There was no factual basis for the plea; or
Page 4 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL 0, 0

6 ,0 0 Conn. App. 1
State v. Abramovich

The defendant’s failure to file a motion to withdraw
his pleas is not, however, fatal to his claims on appeal
in that we may review unpreserved constitutional
claims. See State v. Reid, 277 Conn. 764, 777 n.15, 894
A.2d 963 (2006) (failure to file motion to withdraw plea
with trial court ‘‘need not be fatal to review when consti-
tutional claims are at issue and the record is adequate
for review’’); State v. Williams, supra, 60 Conn. App.
578–79 (despite defendant’s failure to preserve claim
by filing timely motion to withdraw plea, claim never-
theless is reviewable because it asserts violation of
fundamental constitutional right; defendant failed, how-
ever, to demonstrate constitutional violation occurred);
see also State v. Childree, 189 Conn. 114, 119, 454 A.2d
1274 (1983) (court considered claim that guilty plea
was not knowingly and voluntarily made even though
it was raised for first time on appeal because it involved
violation of fundamental constitutional right).

We consider unpreserved claims of constitutional
magnitude according to the requirements of State v.
Golding, 213 Conn. 233, 239–40, 567 A.2d 823 (1989),
as modified by In re Yasiel R., 317 Conn. 773, 781, 120
A.3d 1188 (2015).5 It is well settled that a party seeking
‘‘(6) The plea either was not entered by a person authorized to act for
a corporate defendant or was not subsequently ratified by a corporate
defendant.’’
5
‘‘Under Golding, a [party] can prevail on a claim of constitutional error
not preserved at trial only if the following conditions are met: (1) the record is
adequate to review the alleged claim of error; (2) the claim is of constitutional
magnitude alleging the violation of a fundamental right; (3) the alleged
constitutional violation . . . exists and . . . deprived the [party] of a fair
trial; and (4) if subject to harmless error analysis, the state has failed to
demonstrate harmlessness of the alleged constitutional violation beyond a
reasonable doubt. In the absence of any one of these conditions, the [party’s]
claim will fail. The appellate tribunal is free, therefore, to respond to the
[party’s] claim by focusing on whichever condition is most relevant in the
particular circumstances.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) In re Riley
B., 203 Conn. App. 627, 636, 248 A.3d 756, cert. denied, 336 Conn. 943, 250
A.3d 40 (2021).
0, 0 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 5

0 Conn. App. 1 ,0 7
State v. Abramovich

such extraordinary review need not specifically request
it, but must nevertheless ‘‘present a record that is [ade-
quate] for review and affirmatively [demonstrate] that
his claim is indeed a violation of a fundamental constitu-
tional right.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State
v. Elson, 311 Conn. 726, 755, 91 A.3d 862 (2014).
Here, the defendant has not requested Golding review,
in name or in substance. Other than vaguely setting
forth various constitutional principles, the defendant
has failed to demonstrate, by analysis of the application
of those principles to his claims or any coherent discus-
sion of relevant authority, that his claims are of constitu-
tional magnitude. Cf. id., 756. He likewise has failed to
adequately brief, by way of a discussion of relevant
authority and the application of that authority to his
claims, that an alleged constitutional violation exists
and that the state has failed to demonstrate harm-
lessness of the alleged constitutional violation beyond
a reasonable doubt. Although we are concerned that,
on the basis of the record before us, the defendant may
not have understood that the unsuccessful completion
of his treatment program might subject him to a split
sentence6 beyond the eighteen months of incarceration
that was expressly contemplated by the plea agree-
ment,7 he has failed to adequately brief this claim, in
addition to his other claims, in accordance with the
mandates for the review of unpreserved constitutional
claims as set forth herein. We therefore decline to
review the defendant’s claims.8 See State v. Tierinni,
6
A split sentence is a term of imprisonment with the execution of such
sentence of imprisonment suspended, either entirely or partially, followed
by a period of probation or conditional discharge.
7
Practice Book § 39-7 provides in relevant part: ‘‘If a plea agreement has
been reached by the parties, which contemplates the entry of a plea of guilty
or nolo contendere, the judicial authority shall require the disclosure of the
agreement in open court or, on a showing of good cause, in camera at the
time the plea is offered. . . .’’
8
At oral argument before this court, the defendant represented that he
has filed with the trial court a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant
to Practice Book § 43-22, asking the trial court to address this claim.
Page 6 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL 0, 0

8 ,0 0 Conn. App. 1
State v. Abramovich

144 Conn. App. 232, 238, 71 A.3d 675 (‘‘[A party’s] failure
to address the four prongs of Golding amounts to an
inadequate briefing of the issue and results in the unpre-
served claim being abandoned. . . . We will not engage
in Golding . . . review on the basis of . . . an inade-
quate brief.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.)), cert.
denied, 310 Conn. 911, 76 A.3d 627 (2013); see also
Guiliano v. Jefferson Radiology, P.C., 206 Conn. App.
603, 624, 261 A.3d 140 (2021).
The judgments are affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.