The state Appellate Court has affirmed the conviction of a 30-year-old man serving 14.5 years in prison for a drunken-driving crash in Ledyard that left one of his daughters with a permanently disabled arm.

Marcus Harvin, of New Britain, had fired his attorney, John R. Williams, and represented himself at his 2016 trial in New London Superior Court. A six-member jury found him guilty of second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, two counts of risk of injury to a minor, two counts of first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless driving, interfering with a police officer and engaging police in a pursuit.

On May 25, 2014, Harvin, whose blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit, was driving a car that struck a utility pole at high speed at the intersection of Long Cove and Baldwin Hill roads in Ledyard, causing the engine and transmission to separate from the car, which became airborne and struck several items before landing upside down in an in-ground swimming pool.

His 2-year-old daughter's arm was nearly severed in the crash, and she underwent six surgeries at Yale New Haven Hospital. His 4-year-old daughter suffered a less serious injury.

Harvin appealed his conviction and sued his attorney, the trial judge and prosecutor.

Judge Eliot D. Prescott wrote the June 4 appeals court decision, which indicates the other members of the presiding panel, Judge William H. Bright Jr. and retired Supreme Court Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., concurred.

In the appeal, Harvin claimed the trial judge, Barbara Bailey Jongbloed, violated his constitutional rights by denying his request to be appointed a public defender and by failing to order judicial marshals to take off Harvin's shackles when he was briefly taken into custody and then brought into the courtroom.

The appeals court wrote that Jongbloed properly denied Harvin's application for a public defender after Harvin, who had posted a $75,000 bond, fired his private attorney, Williams, on the eve of trial. Jongbloed gave Harvin time to hire another attorney and then, when he didn't, denied Harvin's request for a court-appointed lawyer. Attorney Sean Kelly from the public defender's office told the court Harvin wasn't indigent, and therefore was ineligible for a public defender. Though Harvin had not paid Williams, Williams stated he was willing to continue representing Harvin.

Williams sat with Harvin throughout the trial as his standby counsel.

The appellate judges concluded the judge had not erred when she failed to tell marshals to remove Harvin's leg irons, which Harvin said became visible to the jury and prejudiced it against him after he stood up to approach a witness. The prosecutor called for a recess as soon as she realized Harvin was wearing the shackles, and the appeals court found that Harvin, who had not asked to have the shackles removed, was not forced to stand before the jury while visibly shackled. The appeals decision indicates the record was not clear as to whether the judge was aware Harvin was shackled.

Harvin has several cases pending in state and federal courts.

He is suing Yale New Haven/Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, for what he claims were the unlawful release of medical records to the state after the accident.

He filed a malpractice complaint against his attorney, Williams, but it was dismissed by Judge Sheila Ozalis, who wrote that a malpractice complaint against an attorney in such a case is not "ripe," or ready to be litigated, while the complainant stands convicted of the crime.

Harvin sued Williams, the judge and prosecutors in the case in U.S. District Court, claiming, among other issues, that he hadn't authorized Williams to attend a meeting in the judge's chambers. U.S. District Judge Judge Victor A. Bolden dismissed the lawsuit.

He also has a pending application for a writ of habeas corpus, a claim which is sometimes referred to as the court of last resort.

k.florin@theday.com