Nealy v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 235 Conn. App. 872

Syllabus

The petitioner, who previously had been convicted, on a plea of guilty, of assault in the first degree, 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 erred in concluding that his criminal trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance because she failed to adequately investigate certain potential witnesses. Held: This court dismissed the appeal because it concluded that the habeas court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal, as the petitioner failed to demonstrate, in accordance with the test adopted in Simms v. Warden (230 Conn. 608), that the issue of whether his trial counsel's representation was reasonably competent or within the range of competence displayed by lawyers with ordinary training and skill in the criminal law was an issue that was debatable among jurists of reason, that a court could resolve in a different manner or that was adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. Argued April 23—officially released October 21, 2025