Ampero v. Comm'r of Corr.

157 A.3d 1192, 171 Conn. App. 670, 2017 Conn. App. LEXIS 103
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 21, 2017
DocketAC 38575
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 157 A.3d 1192 (Ampero v. Comm'r of Corr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ampero v. Comm'r of Corr., 157 A.3d 1192, 171 Conn. App. 670, 2017 Conn. App. LEXIS 103 (Colo. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

NORCOTT, J.

Opinion *672The petitioner, Alberto Ampero, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying, in part, his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus.1 On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court improperly (1) concluded that his trial counsel provided effective assistance, (2) rejected his claim of actual innocence, and (3) rejected his claim that his due process rights were violated by the use of allegedly perjured testimony. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the habeas court.

The following facts and procedural history are relevant to the disposition of the petitioner's claims.2 On August 27, 2009, the petitioner forced the victim and her three children to enter an apartment building and, after allowing them to leave the following morning, fled on foot from pursuing police. State v. Ampero , 144 Conn.App. 706, 708-12, 72 A.3d 435, cert. denied, 310 Conn. 914, 76 A.3d 631 (2013). During the course of the night, the petitioner also grabbed the victim by her neck, choked her and left marks on her neck. Id. at 710, 72 A.3d 435. The state charged the petitioner with kidnapping in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-92 (a) (2) (A), kidnapping in the second degree in violation *673of General Statutes § 53a-94 (a), strangulation in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-64bb, and interfering with an officer in violation of General Statutes § 53a-167a. Following a jury trial, the petitioner was found guilty of kidnapping in the second degree and interfering with an officer.3 Id., at 712, 72 A.3d 435. He was found not guilty of the remaining charges. This court affirmed the petitioner's convictions on direct appeal. Id. at 708, 72 A.3d 435.

On May 5, 2014, the petitioner filed the operative three count second amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In it, the petitioner alleged ineffective assistance of his trial counsel,4 R. Bruce Lorenzen, at trial, that he was actually innocent, and that his due process rights were violated *1198due to the use of perjured testimony. After a two day habeas trial in December, 2014, the habeas court issued a memorandum of decision denying, in part, the petitioner's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

The petitioner first claims that the habeas court improperly concluded that Lorenzen provided effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, he argues that his counsel was deficient by failing (1) to request limiting *674instructions regarding the introduction of prior misconduct evidence; (2) to present exculpatory evidence, namely, a tape of the victim's mother's 911 call, which allegedly would have undermined her trial testimony; and (3) to present exculpatory witnesses who could impeach the victim's testimony that she was not involved in a romantic relationship with the petitioner during the summer of 2009, when the incident occurred. The respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, argues that the habeas court properly denied the second amended petition because the petitioner's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel overlooks "the fact that counsel's overall performance, which resulted in a finding of not guilty as to two of the four charges faced by the petitioner, indicates that counsel rendered effective and capable advocacy" and fails to afford "the proper level of deference to counsel's strategic decisions ... [in] an attempt to second-guess counsel's trial tactics after an adverse result." We agree with the respondent and affirm the court's determination that the petitioner's trial counsel provided effective assistance.

We begin by setting forth our standard of review. "The habeas court is afforded broad discretion in making its factual findings, and those findings will not be disturbed unless they are clearly erroneous.... The application of the habeas court's factual findings to the pertinent legal standard, however, presents a mixed question of law and fact, which is subject to plenary review." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Horn v. Commissioner of Correction , 321 Conn. 767, 775, 138 A.3d 908 (2016).

The legal principles that govern an ineffective assistance claim are well settled. See Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). "A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel consists of two components: a performance prong and a prejudice prong. To satisfy the performance prong ... the petitioner must demonstrate that his attorney's *675representation was not reasonably competent or within the range of competence displayed by lawyers with ordinary training and skill in the criminal law....

"The second prong is ... satisfied if the petitioner can demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that, but for that ineffectiveness, the outcome would have been different." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Horn v. Commissioner of Correction , supra, 321 Conn. at 775-76, 138 A.3d 908.

Regarding the performance prong, "[j]udicial scrutiny of counsel's performance must be highly deferential....

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Ampero v. Comm'r of Corr.
171 A.3d 453 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
157 A.3d 1192, 171 Conn. App. 670, 2017 Conn. App. LEXIS 103, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ampero-v-commr-of-corr-connappct-2017.