Lopez v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 230 Conn. App. 437

Syllabus

The petitioner, who previously had been convicted of murder, appealed following the denial of his petition for certification to appeal from the habeas court's judgment denying his habeas petition. He claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly concluded that his trial counsel, C, did not render ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and present the testimony of J, the petitioner's son, at the petitioner's criminal trial. Held: The habeas court abused its discretion in denying the petitioner's petition for certification to appeal, as this court disagreed with the habeas court's reasoning in rejecting the petitioner's ineffective assistance claim with respect to J's testimony, and, accordingly, this court addressed the merits of the petitioner's claims, concluding that the issues were debatable among jurists of reason and that a court could have resolved the issues in a differ- ent manner. The habeas court erred in concluding that C did not render ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and present the testimony of J, and, therefore, this court retained jurisdiction over the appeal and remanded the case to the habeas court to resolve the factual question of whether there was a reasonable probability that J's testimony exculpating the petitioner would have been credited by the jury if he had testified at the petitioner's criminal trial. Argued November 12, 2024—officially released February 4, 2025