Georges v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 203 Conn. App. 639

Syllabus

The petitioner, a Haitian national who had been convicted of reckless man- slaughter in the first degree in violation of statute (§ 53a-55 (a) (3)), sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that the habeas court improp- erly concluded that he had not established that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in advising him of the immigration consequences of his plea of nolo contendere. The petitioner asserted that his counsel failed to advise him that his plea would result in certain deportation because a conviction pursuant to § 53a-55 (a) (3) constituted a crime of moral turpitude under federal law. The court rendered judgment denying the habeas petition, from which the petitioner, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. Held that the habeas court properly denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the petitioner having failed to satisfy his burden of demonstrating deficient performance on the part of his trial counsel: contrary to the petitioner's claim that the crime of which he was convicted was one of moral turpitude that would result in definite deportation, there was no federal or Connecticut authority holding that reckless manslaughter in the first degree consti- tuted a crime of moral turpitude, and, although the petitioner's deporta- tion was extremely likely as a result his plea, it was not a certainty, as a practice guide that was available to his counsel at the time of the plea advised that crimes of moral turpitude did not render noncitizens removable in every case and that federal law permitted the waiver of that ground for removal; moreover, the petitioner's testimony that he would not have entered his plea had he known that there was a very real risk of deportation was found to be not credible by the court, which credited trial counsel's testimony that he had advised the petitioner that his plea could very likely result in his deportation and that he should expect the worst. Argued December 7, 2020—officially releas