Donald G. v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 203 Conn. App. 58

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted of sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the third degree, and three counts of risk of injury to a child, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. The petitioner claimed, inter alia, that counsel failed to present testimony from four witnesses, his mother, his stepfather and two family friends, about his alleged presence or absence from a December, 2007 holiday party at which certain of his alleged criminal conduct occurred. Those same four witnesses testified at his criminal trial that they had not seen him at a 2008 holiday party, and the petitioner was acquitted of sexual assault charges stemming from allegations regarding that date. The habeas court rendered judgment denying the habeas petition, from which the petitioner, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. Held: 1. The habeas court properly determined that the petitioner failed to establish his claim that trial counsel's decision to refrain from questioning wit- nesses regarding his attendance at an event on a certain date in 2007 constituted deficient performance; the petitioner presented no evidence at the habeas trial that anyone except his parents would have attested to his absence from the 2007 party, and trial counsel's strategic decision not to question the petitioner's parents about his whereabouts at the December, 2007 holiday party was not objectively unreasonable, as the jury could have deemed them to be biased witnesses seeking to protect their son, especially in light of contradictory evidence at the criminal trial that the petitioner had told a police officer that he had been present at the December, 2007 holiday party. 2. The habeas court properly determined that the petitioner failed to demon- strate that he was prejudiced by any deficient performance of his trial counsel in referring to the complaining witness as the ''victim'' or by failing to object or to reques