State v. Nowakowski

In State v. Nowakowski, 188 Conn. 620, 452 A.2d 938 (1982), the police officer's response to a question was clearly inappropriate, and, yet, our Supreme Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a mistrial. Id. at 624. The police officer in Nowakowski, when questioned regarding his interactions with the defendant in that case, gave the unsolicited response that "if he was so innocent he would have given me a statement . . . ." State v. Nowakowski, supra, 188 Conn. at 621-22. The Nowakowski Court concluded that, "in taking prompt corrective action in its instruction cautioning the jury to disregard the statement made by the witness, the trial court adequately prevented any potential use of the remark by the jury in their deliberations." Id.