Glen S. v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 223 Conn. App. 152

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted, on a guilty plea entered pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford (400 U.S. 25), of sexual assault in a cohabiting relationship, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial counsel had provided ineffective assistance by allowing him to enter a guilty plea while he was under the influence of prescription drugs that affected his ability to give a knowing and meaningful plea. At trial, when the petitioner's counsel attempted to call his first witness, R, to testify as to the petitioner's character for truthfulness, counsel for the respon- dent, the Commissioner of Correction, objected on the grounds of rele- vance. The court sustained the respondent's relevancy objection. The petitioner's habeas counsel never sought to recall R as a witness after the petitioner testified. The court rendered judgment denying the petition for habeas corpus and, thereafter, denied the petition for certification to appeal, and the petitioner appealed to this court. Held that the habeas court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal, the petitioner having failed to show that there was an issue that was debatable among jurists of reason, that a court could have resolved the issue in a different manner or that the question was adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further: the habeas court properly determined that R's testimony, when R had no connection with the plea hearing, was not relevant to the petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel; moreover, at the time the petitioner's counsel called R to testify, the petitioner had not himself testified and, thus, his veracity had not been challenged or impeached and extrinsic evidence of his character for truthfulness was immaterial. Argued October 5, 2023—officially released January 2, 2024