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CLEAVEN A. JOHNSON, JR. v. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN ET AL. (AC 31239)
Gruendel, Lavine and Dupont, Js. Argued March 9--officially released July 19, 2011

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of New Haven, Keegan, J.) Max F. Brunswick, with whom was Josephine Smalls Miller, for the appellant (plaintiff). Warren L. Holcomb, for the appellees (defendants).

Opinion

LAVINE, J. In this action involving a claim of wrongful termination from employment, the plaintiff, Cleaven A. Johnson, Jr., appeals from the judgment of the trial court denying his motion for a new trial in favor of the defendants, the board of education of the city of New Haven (board), Reginald Mayo, superintendent of public schools for the city of New Haven (city), and Deborah Speese-Linehan,1 the plaintiff's supervisor. The plaintiff claims that the court abused its discretion in denying his motion because it committed reversible error when it (1) excluded testimony offered by the plaintiff as to statements made by him and several coworkers concerning matters related to the workplace, (2) excluded from evidence article 20, section 9, of the collective bargaining agreement (agreement) between the city and the New Haven Management & Professional Management Union, Local 3144, Council 4, AFSCME, AFL-CIO (union), (3) refused to instruct the jury that the law does not permit any presumptions that individuals will not discriminate or retaliate against another person because they are of the same race and (4) denied his motion for recusal because the judge who conducted the pretrial conference also presided over the jury trial. We disagree with the plaintiff and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court. The following facts and procedural history are relevant to this appeal. The board hired the plaintiff in 2000 under a federal grant as an in-school drug education prevention worker at Jackie Robinson Middle School. The plaintiff's responsibilities in this position included monitoring a karate class that took place before the start of the school day. Speese-Linehan visited the karate class on three occasions, and on two of the three occasions the plaintiff was not present for the class and on the other occasion he arrived late. The plaintiff was issued a written warning and placed on a plan of improvement due to his inadequate supervision of the karate class. Before completing the plan, however, the plaintiff took a leave of absence for the entire 2001

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Connecticut Law