Ruiz v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 195 Conn. App. 847

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted of sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the fourth degree and risk of injury to a child, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial counsel had provided ineffective assistance. He claimed, inter alia, that his trial counsel were deficient in representing him at a pretrial hearing on a motion in limine filed by the state, which sought permission to videotape the testimony of the child victim in the petitioner's absence, pursuant to State v. Jarzbek (204 Conn. 683). The habeas court rendered judgment denying the petition, from which the petitioner, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. The habeas court had found that the petitioner failed to show that he was prejudiced by the allegedly deficient perfor- mance of his trial counsel. This court thereafter reversed in part the habeas court's judgment and remanded the case to the habeas court for further proceedings. This court concluded that the habeas court's prejudice analysis was improper. This court's remand order directed the habeas court to consider prejudice and, if necessary for the ultimate resolution of the petitioner's ineffective assistance claim, to consider the petitioner's allegations of deficient performance. Thereafter, on remand, the habeas court denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, from which the petitioner, on the granting of certification, appealed to this court. He claimed, inter alia, that the habeas court improperly concluded that his right to effective assistance of counsel was not vio- lated by the performance of his trial counsel in challenging the reliability of the state's witness, G, at the Jarzbek hearing. Held that the habeas court correctly determined that the petitioner failed to demonstrate deficient performance of his trial counsel: trial counsel challenged G's testimony on multiple grounds, including, inter alia, reliability and G's qualifications; moreover, trial counsel's performance