Cunningham v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 195 Conn. App. 63

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted of the crimes of murder, carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a firearm in connec- tion with the shooting death of the victim, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial counsel, C, had provided ineffective assistance by failing to conduct an adequate pretrial investigation into the petitioner's theory of self-defense and referring to the petitioner as a bully during closing argument. At the habeas trial, the petitioner testified regarding his version of the shooting, stating, inter alia, that during an altercation with the victim, his previously injured knee buckled when the victim punched him, causing him to fall to the ground, and, being unable to stand, he shot the victim when he reached for the petitioner's pistol. In addition, C testified regarding his extensive pretrial investigation, which included reviewing statements and recordings prior to trial, obtaining information from an investigator who was working on an ancillary mat- ter, personally canvassing the neighborhood where the shooting occurred with an associate, interviewing every witness except for one and visiting the location where the body was found. C also testified that he believed that the petitioner did not have a valid self-defense claim in light of the evidence. The habeas court rendered judgment denying the habeas petition, concluding, inter alia, that the petitioner had not proven that C's pretrial investigation was inadequate or that there was a reasonable probability that, but for C's alleged deficient performance, the result of the trial would have been different. In reaching its conclu- sion, the court discredited the petitioner's testimony, finding it to be phony, and credited C's testimony. Thereafter, on the granting of certifi- cation, the petitioner appealed to this court. Held: 1. The petitioner could not prevail on his claim that the habeas court improp- erly rejected his claim that C rendered ineffective