State of Connecticut v. Sushil Gupta

Summary

The court held that consolidating the three sexual-assault cases was an abuse of discretion because the conduct involving M was materially dissimilar from and substantially more prejudicial than the conduct involving J and D, depriving the defendant of a fair trial. It also held that the trial court properly excluded the medical-treatise excerpts under the circumstances but improperly excluded instructional videotapes that corroborated the defense expert's testimony. The case was remanded for new trials in the cases involving J and M. Justice Palmer concurred on different severance grounds and would also have admitted the treatises; Chief Justice Rogers, joined by Justice Vertefeuille, dissented and would have upheld the joinder and convictions, treating the videotape error as harmless.