Correia v. Commissioner of Correction
Correia v. Commissioner of Correction
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The petitioner, Steven D. Correia, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying his second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner claims that the habeas court improperly rejected his claims that his counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing (1) to adequately challenge the victim’s in-court identification of the petitioner and (2) to recuse himself from representing the petitioner in a prior habeas proceeding due to a conflict of interest. We are not persuaded and affirm the judgment of the habeas court.
In 2007, the petitioner commenced the present habeas action. The petitioner filed the operative second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus in May, 2010, alleging ineffective assistance of his counsel,
“Our standard of review of a habeas court’s judgment on ineffective assistance of counsel claims is well settled. In a habeas appeal, this court cannot disturb the underlying facts found by the habeas court unless they are clearly erroneous, but our review of whether the facts as found by the habeas court constituted a violation of the petitioner’s constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel is plenary.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Morris v. Commissioner of Correction, 131 Conn. App. 839, 842, 29 A.3d 914, cert. denied, 303 Conn. 915, 33 A.3d 739 (2011).
“A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel consists of two components: a performance prong and a prejudice prong. To satisfy the performance prong, a claimant must demonstrate that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed ... by the [s]ixth [a]mendment.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Gooden v. Commissioner of Correction, 127 Conn. App. 662, 668, 14 A.3d 1066, cert.
“To satisfy the prejudice prong, a claimant must demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. . . . With respect to the prejudice component, [i]t is not enough for the [petitioner] to show that the errors had some conceivable effect on the outcome of the proceedings. . . . Because both prongs . . . must be established for a habeas petitioner to prevail, a court may dismiss a petitioner’s claim if he fails to meet either prong. . . . A court need not determine the deficiency of counsel’s performance if consideration of the prejudice prong will be dispositive of the ineffectiveness claim.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Gooden v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 127 Conn. App. 668.
Finally, in those cases in which a habeas coipus petitioner claims ineffective assistance of counsel because of a claimed conflict of interest, our Supreme Court has stated that, “to establish a violation of the sixth amendment the defendant has a two-pronged task. He
Turning to the claims of ineffective assistance raised in the present appeal, the habeas court found that although a review of the trial transcript revealed that Mandanici misunderstood the procedure for obtaining an in-court identification by lineup, even erroneously suggesting that the prosecution rather than the defense had the burden of moving for such a lineup; see State v. Tatum, 219 Conn. 721, 729, 595 A.2d 322 (1991); Mandanici nevertheless “zealously advocated for the petitioner, trying to have him absent from the courtroom or identified by lineup.” Further, even assuming deficient performance on the part of Mandanici, the habeas court found that the petitioner’s claim of ineffective assistance failed because the petitioner had not produced any evidence that the sexual assault victim would not have been able to identify the petitioner if an in-court lineup had been ordered or that the outcome of the criminal trial would have been different if Man-danici properly had moved for an in-court identification of the petitioner by lineup.
The habeas court further rejected the claim that Man-danici provided ineffective assistance by acting as the petitioner’s counsel in the first habeas proceeding or by failing to recuse himself on the basis of a conflict of interest. The habeas court noted that although it often would be better practice for someone other than trial counsel to represent a petitioner in a subsequent habeas action, there is no authority prohibiting trial counsel from also assuming the role of habeas counsel. The habeas court also found that the petitioner failed
After carefully reviewing the record and all applicable law, we conclude that none of the findings supporting the habeas court’s denial of the petition for a writ of habeas corpus were clearly erroneous, nor do we find error with the court’s legal conclusions. On the basis of our plenary review, we conclude that the habeas court properly denied the petitioner’s second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
The judgment is affirmed.
An allegation of actual innocence was withdrawn on the first day of the habeas trial.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.