Schuler v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 200 Conn. App. 602

Syllabus

The petitioner, who previously had been convicted of sexual assault in the second degree, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance when he requested a jury instruc- tion, which the trial court accepted and modified before instructing the jury, that contained a mandatory presumption that, if the jury believed that the petitioner's prior sexual misconduct had occurred, it was required to find that that conduct supported a theory that the petitioner had a propensity to commit similar criminal sexual misconduct. The habeas court rendered judgment denying the habeas petition. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition for certification to appeal using a Judicial Branch form on which he marked a box that stated that his grounds for appeal were written in a separate Judicial Branch form that pertained to the application for the appointment of appellate counsel and the waiver of fees, costs and expenses for the appeal to this court. The petitioner failed to attach that application form to his petition for certifi- cation to appeal. After the habeas court denied the petition for certifica- tion to appeal because it did not state any grounds for appeal, the petitioner filed an application for appointment of counsel form on which he identified the proposed grounds for appeal. The habeas court there- after granted the application for a waiver of fees, costs and expenses and appointed appellate counsel, and the petitioner appealed to this court. Held that the habeas court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal: the habeas court was not apprised of the issue or issues that the petitioner sought to raise on appeal, as the petition for certification to appeal form did not state any grounds on which he proposed to appeal, the petitioner did not attach the application form to his petition for certification to appeal form, and, although the petitioner claimed that the habeas court should