Papantoniou v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 235 Conn. App. 674

Syllabus

The respondent Commissioner of Correction appealed, on the granting of certification, from the habeas court's judgment granting in part the petition- er's petition for a writ of habeas corpus after concluding that the petitioner's sixth amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel had been vio- lated due to an undisclosed, actual conflict of interest on the part of his criminal defense counsel, G. The respondent claimed, inter alia, that the court improperly concluded that the petitioner had established that G was burdened by an actual conflict of interest that adversely affected his repre- sentation of the petitioner. Held: The habeas court's finding that G simultaneously represented both the peti- tioner at the time of the petitioner's criminal trial and S, a witness who testified on behalf of the state at the petitioner's criminal trial, was clearly erroneous, as it was undisputed that another attorney filed an appearance in place of G in S's criminal case before the commencement of the petitioner's criminal trial, and, thereafter, G did not file any appearances on behalf of S at any time prior to the conclusion of the petitioner's trial or his sentencing, nor was there any documentary or testimonial evidence in the record that G provided legal representation to S in any court proceeding or otherwise at the time of the petitioner's criminal trial. The habeas court's finding that G represented S at a hearing six weeks prior to the start of the petitioner's criminal trial was clearly erroneous, as the relevant court files, considered in tandem with the unequivocal statements that S's defense counsel had filed an appearance in the unrelated criminal case, which were included in conflicting transcripts from that hearing, con- vinced this court that a mistake had been made regarding G's alleged repre- sentation of S at the hearing in question. The habeas court improperly concluded that G's representation of S and the petitioner for four months prior to the s