Rapp v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 224 Conn. App. 336

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted, on a plea of guilty, of murder, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that both his trial counsel and prior habeas counsel were ineffective and that his guilty plea was not knowing, intelligent and voluntary in violation of his due process rights. In 2010, approximately two years after his conviction, the petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus, in which he was represented by D. In 2013, the petitioner withdrew his petition just prior to trial. In 2018, the petitioner filed the underlying habeas petition, which he amended in 2022. The respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, filed a motion pursuant to the statute (§ 52-470) governing summary disposal of habeas corpus matters for an order to show cause as to why the petition should not be dismissed as untimely because it was filed more than five years after the petitioner's judgment of conviction became final in 2008. In response, the petitioner claimed that good cause existed for the delay in the filing of his petition because D failed to advise him of the time constraints outlined in § 52-470 for a subsequent habeas petition and, if he had been so advised, he would not have withdrawn his first habeas petition. The habeas court found that the petitioner had failed to show good cause for the delay in filing and dismissed the petition. Just prior to oral argument in the present appeal, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Rose v. Commissioner of Correction (348 Conn. 333), which held that ineffective assistance of counsel is an objective factor external to a petitioner that may constitute good cause to excuse the late filing of a habeas petition under the totality of the circumstances pursuant to § 52-470 (c) and (e). Held that the habeas court did not apply the correct legal standard under § 52-470 (c) and (e) in deciding that the petitioner had not demonstrated good cause for the late filing of his habeas petition; although the habeas court did not expressly re