Opinion
The defendant, Luis Rojas, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (4) and burglary in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-103. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court failed to make an adequate inquiry into allegations that there *747was no meaningful communication between the defendant and his trial counsel and that the attorney-client relationship had broken down irretrievably. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
The procedural facts underlying the defendant’s claim predate the trial. On July 31, 2007, the trial court appointed the public defender to represent the defendant. Subsequently, on August 2, 2007, special public defender Richard E. Cohen entered his appearance with the court as counsel for the defendant. On November 16,2007, Cohen filed a motion to withdraw appearance, citing mistrust by the defendant caused by disagreements over trial strategy, alack of meaningful communication between the defendant and himself and his belief that the attorney-client relationship was broken irretrievably. The motion included the following assertion by Cohen: “I believe that the absence of an ongoing attorney-client relationship poses a direct and material threat to the defendant.”
The record reflects that at a hearing on Cohen’s motion on January 24, 2008, the court, Gold, J., was aware that the defendant desired the appointment of a new public defender, and the court gave the defendant an opportunity to verbalize his complaints regarding Cohen’s handling of his case.1 The defendant’s complaints can be summarized as follows: Cohen was too *749young; Cohen refused to give him his paperwork; and Cohen would not file pretrial motions proposed by the defendant. In response to the defendant’s concerns, the court verified with Cohen that the defendant had received copies of all materials to which he was entitled. During the discussion, the defendant became belligerent and was removed from the courtroom.
The matter was continued on February 4, 2008, at which time Cohen confirmed that he and the defendant disagreed about which motions were appropriate to file. Cohen stated, for example, that the defendant insisted that discovery motions be filed even though Cohen deemed them unnecessary because the prosecutor’s file was open to the defense. In response to Cohen’s assertion, the defendant expressed doubt that he had seen all of the documents held by the prosecutor because, in his estimation, the documents he had seen did not provide sufficient grounds for an arrest warrant to have issued. After hearing from both the defendant and Cohen, the court denied Cohen’s motion to withdraw his appearance, expressing faith that they would cooperate, and the court set a date for a final pretrial hearing.2
*750The defendant and Cohen next appeared on April 4, 2008, when the defendant alleged that there was no attorney-client communication and that Cohen was not acting in the defendant’s best interest, citing Cohen’s previous motion to withdraw as evidence of this belief.3 He also repeated his complaints that Cohen had refused to file motions proposed by the defendant and failed to provide him with the entire file. The court addressed the defendant’s complaints, noting that “we’ve been stuck in this holding pattern,” and concluded that Cohen had “done everything that he’s supposed to do and more.” The defendant then repeated his request for new counsel, which the court denied.4
After a jury trial, during which he was represented by Cohen, the defendant was found guilty and sentenced to twenty-five years in prison, execution suspended after *751twenty years, with five years of probation. This appeal followed.
The defendant claims on appeal that the court failed to make an adequate inquiry into allegations that there was no meaningful communication between the defendant and Cohen and that the attorney-client relationship had broken down irretrievably. We are not persuaded.
The sixth amendment to the United States constitution guarantees effective assistance of counsel to a criminal defendant. Consequently, “[a] trial court has a responsibility to inquire into and to evaluate carefully all substantial complaints concerning court-appointed counsel .... The extent of that inquiry, however, lies within the discretion of the trial court. ... A trial court does not abuse its discretion by failing to make further inquiry where the [defendant] has already had an adequate opportunity to inform the trial court of his complaints.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) In re Jeremy M., 100 Conn. App. 436, 456, 918 A.2d 944, cert. denied, 282 Conn. 927, 926 A.2d 666 (2007).
In the present case, the defendant does not argue that the court made no inquiry into his complaints about Cohen. Instead, he argues that the inquiry was inadequate because the court did not inquire directly into the allegations listed in Cohen’s motion to withdraw, namely, that a lack of communication and an irretrievably broken down attorney-client relationship posed a threat to the defendant. The court, however, gave the defendant ample opportunity to put his complaints on the record. See, e.g., State v. Arroyo, 284 Conn. 597, 644-45, 935 A.2d 975 (2007). On several occasions, the court allowed the defendant to voice his displeasure with Cohen’s services and to articulate his basis for that displeasure, which was that the defendant mistrusted *752Cohen and his trial strategies.5 Furthermore, the court addressed the defendant’s complaints, revealing the court’s thorough understanding of them. In response to the defendant’s stated grievances, the court attempted to explain motions practice to the defendant and attempted to assure the defendant of Cohen’s trustworthiness. The court also confirmed with Cohen that he would prioritize the defendant’s trial in terms of his own upcoming schedule of obligations. In short, the court was aware of the nature and scope of the defendant’s complaints not only from motions filed with the court but also by reason of the opportunity given by the court to the defendant and Cohen to articulate and to explore the defendant’s concerns fully. Accordingly, the court did not abuse its discretion by not enlarging its inquiry any further.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.