State v. D'Antonio

Opinion

NORCOTT, J.

This court, in State v. Niblack, 220 Conn. 270, 280, 596 A.2d 407 (1991), approved of a *661procedure whereby a trial court may participate in the negotiation of a plea agreement between the state and a defendant, so long as a different judge presides at trial and sentencing if the negotiations are unsuccessful (Niblack rule). The principal issue in these certified appeals is whether the Appellate Court properly concluded that violation of the Niblack rule is, by itself, plain error that requires reversal of a defendant’s conviction, without regard to the facts and circumstances…