VanDeusen v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 212 Conn. App. 427

Syllabus

The petitioner, who had been convicted of several crimes in connection with a shooting, sought a writ of habeas corpus, claiming, inter alia, that her trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance when he failed to request that the trial court instruct the jury regarding the elements of the applicable sentence enhancement statute (§ 53-202k) and the statutory (§ 53a-3 (19)) definition of firearm in § 53-202k with respect to the charge of accessory to attempt to commit assault in the first degree. The petitioner and another individual, K, had driven to the residence of a woman, J, where K fired a handgun at the residence before he and the petitioner drove away. The trial court imposed a five year sentence enhancement on the petitioner's conviction of being an accessory to an attempt to commit assault in the first degree. The habeas court denied the habeas petition, concluding that the jury unanimously had determined that the state proved each element of § 53-202k and that any error caused by the trial court's failure to instruct the jury as to the elements of § 53-202k was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The habeas court further concluded that the petitioner failed to demon- strate that the outcome of her trial or appeal would have been different even if trial counsel had requested an instruction as to the elements of § 53-202k or objected to the court's instruction concerning § 53-202k. Held: 1. The petitioner could not prevail on her claim that her trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by neglecting to request a jury instruction regard- ing the elements of § 53-202k and the definition of firearm in § 53a-3 (19), or by failing to object to the instruction the court gave, which did not define firearm or instruct as to the elements of § 53-202k: the jury's guilty verdict on the charge of attempted assault as an accessory was predicated on the undisputed evidence the state presented that K dis- charged a loaded handgun at J's residence, from which the jury