Cocktail glasses, car keys, TV antennas - all have been considered "dangerous instruments" by Connecticut juries in convictions over the years.
The lawyer for Steve LaFleur, who is serving 18 years in prison for smashing his former girlfriend's face in Newhallville in 2008, told state supreme court justices first-degree assault was too severe a charge because LaFleur only used his fist.
"The state's actually never charged that a fist is a dangerous instrument," said Richard Condon, LaFleur's public defender, "and that's probably why it's never been ruled upon.
He argued LaFleur should be acquitted and released because LaFleur's prosecutor did not seek a lesser charge, if the justices rule a fist cannot be considered a dangerous instrument.
"The state took a shot here," said Chief Justice Chase Rogers during the arguments.
Arguing for the state, Melissa Streeto urged the justices to uphold the conviction.
"Pretty much anything that you can think of can be a dangerous instrument if it's used in a manner capable of causing serious physical injury or death," she said. "The appellate court has ruled that a foot, albeit a foot with a shoe on, has been ruled as a dangerous instrument."
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One justice wanted Condon to "suppose he had something heavy in his hand, like a roll of coins". Another wanted him to explain what a dangerous instrument would be if not a fist.
"You don't really know where they're going from the questioning," said Condon. "Some times they ask questions for the sake of asking questions - not for the sake of asking questions - but to inform themselves more."
