Baldwin v. Commissioner of Correction
Baldwin v. Commissioner of Correction
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The petitioner, Carthaniel Baldwin, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
The habeas court’s dismissal of the petitioner’s petition was predicated on a factual review of the petitioner’s claim and a determination that the petitioner had failed to rebut the strong presumption that “counsel’s conduct [fell] within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” Safford v. Warden, 223 Conn. 180, 193, 612 A.2d 1161 (1992). The habeas court found that the objections of the petitioner’s trial counsel to certain evidence were cogent, if not successful, and that his conduct was well within the reasonable parameters for conduct of the defense. The habeas court also found that, although the petitioner’s trial counsel failed to raise a particular objection to the admission of opinion evidence, the ground would have been unavailing to the petitioner. Finally, with respect to any evidentiary prejudice to the petitioner, the habeas court found the remainder of the evidence against him to be overwhelming.
The petitioner also claimed that his trial counsel improperly failed to press for a ruling on a motion in limine concerning the petitioner’s prior acts of misconduct. When the motion was presented before the commencement of trial, the prosecutor made clear that if
We conclude that the habeas court had before it sufficient evidence to find as it did and that it did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal.
The appeal is dismissed.
Pursuant to General Statutes § 52-470 (b), the petitioner also sought certification to appeal the judgment of the habeas court from a justice of our Supreme Court, Berdon, J., who denied the petition.
The facts of the petitioner’s underlying conviction are fully set out in our Supreme Court’s decision of his direct appeal. State v. Baldwin, 224 Conn. 347, 618 A.2d 513 (1993).
The petitioner also claimed that his trial counsel’s assistance fell below the accepted standard because he failed to object to a racially charged comment that the trial court allegedly made about a member of the venire panel. Justice Berdon, in reviewing the petition for certification before our Supreme Court, obtained a copy of the voir dire proceedings and could find no record of the statement that the petitioner ascribed to the trial court.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.