State of Connecticut v. Luis Diaz

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant’s murder and weapons convictions, holding that the trial court did not commit plain error by failing sua sponte to give a special credibility instruction concerning three witnesses with criminal-justice involvement. The court also declined to use its supervisory authority to require such an instruction whenever a witness may receive a government benefit, distinguishing jailhouse-confession testimony from testimony about observed events and emphasizing that existing law permits discretionary cautionary instructions. PALMER, J., concurring, agreed with the result but would have required such an instruction in future cases whenever a government informer seeks or expects a benefit for testifying.