Williams v. Commissioner of Correction

Citations

• 226 Conn. App. 617

Syllabus

The petitioner appealed to this court from the judgment of the habeas court denying his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that the court erred by declining to issue a capias for a witness at his habeas trial. The petitioner, who had previously been convicted, following a jury trial, of various crimes, claimed at his habeas trial that his criminal trial counsel, K, had rendered ineffective assistance by, inter alia, failing to call J, his former girlfriend, as a witness at his criminal trial. The petitioner subpoenaed J for both days of his habeas trial, but she did not appear on either day. On the second day of the habeas trial, the court denied the petitioner's request to issue a capias for J, finding that, although the petitioner had met the requirements for a capias for the first day of the habeas trial, he had not proved that J had actually received the subpoena for the second day, nor had he proved that J lacked a reasonable excuse for appearing in court. Held that the habeas court did not abuse its discretion in declining the petitioner's request for a capias; the court's denial was not unreasonable or arbitrary and it did not base its decision on improper or irrelevant factors, as it made a thorough inquiry of the petitioner's counsel to ascertain whether the statutory (§ 52-143 (e)) factors for issuing a capias had been met, and counsel was unable to provide the court with any information as to whether J had received the subpoena or whether she had a legitimate reason for her failure to appear. Argued May 29—officially released July 9, 2024