Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction

337 Conn. 348
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedOctober 20, 2020
DocketSC20433
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 337 Conn. 348 (Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction, 337 Conn. 348 (Colo. 2020).

Opinion

DENNIS COOKISH v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION (SC 20433) Robinson, C. J., and Palmer, D’Auria, Mullins, Kahn and Ecker, Js.* Syllabus The petitioner, who had been convicted, on a guilty plea, of the crime of unlawful sexual contact in the first degree, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, seeking to have his guilty plea withdrawn or vacated. A clerk of the court granted the self-represented petitioner’s application

duty under the state and city pursuit policies, we need not consider the plaintiff’s claims that (1) beyond emergency operation in accordance with § 14-283, the state traffic statutes impose ministerial obligations, and (2) as a corollary, nonemergency operation of a motor vehicle is not a discretionary act. See Borelli v. Renaldi, supra, 336 Conn. 5 (specifically declining to ‘‘address the question of whether governmental immunity applies to routine driving of emergency response vehicles by municipal actors’’). This is partic- ularly so given that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Curry had activated her emergency lights and sirens and engaged in the emergency operation of her cruiser at the time of the collision. See footnote 4 of this opinion. Because the Statewide Policy, the General Order, and Maldonado’s testimony were sufficient to establish the existence of a minis- terial duty in this case, we need not consider further this issue concerning the effect of the state traffic statutes to establish a ministerial duty in this case. But see Daley v. Kashmanian, 193 Conn. App. 171, 187–89, 219 A.3d 499 (2019) (concluding that Hartford police officer engaging in surveillance operations in ‘‘soft car’’ lacking lights and sirens was engaged in discretionary act and did not have ministerial duty to comply with motor vehicle statutes but ‘‘declin[ing] to hold that, under all circumstances, a municipal police officer operating a motor vehicle is engaged in discretionary conduct, thereby immunizing the officer and municipality from damages arising from all violations of motor vehicle statutes’’ (emphasis in original)), cert. granted, 335 Conn. 939, 237 A.3d 1 (2020). * The listing of justices reflects their seniority status on this court as of the date of oral argument. July 27, 2021 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 61

337 Conn. 348 JULY, 2021 349 Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction for a waiver of fees but took no action on his request for the appointment of counsel. Subsequently, the habeas court, in connection with its prelim- inary consideration of the writ under the rules of practice (§ 23-24), dismissed, sua sponte, the petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and ordered the petition returned to the petitioner. The court determined that, pursuant to the rules of practice (§ 23-29), it lacked jurisdiction because it was apparent, on the face of the petition, that the petitioner was not in custody for the conviction being challenged. The court denied the petitioner’s petition for certification to appeal, and the petitioner appealed, claiming, inter alia, that the habeas court improperly dismissed the petition under § 23-29 without first appointing him counsel and providing him with notice and an opportunity to be heard. Held: 1. The habeas court correctly determined that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the petitioner was not in custody for the challenged conviction, but it should have declined to issue the writ pursuant to § 23-24 rather than dismissing the petition pursuant to § 23-29, consistent with this court’s prior decision in Gilchrist v. Commissioner of Correc- tion (334 Conn. 548); moreover, the mere administrative granting of the waiver of fees, without more, did not transform the petitioner’s patently defective petition into one in which the procedures of § 23-29 applied, and, because the habeas court should have declined to issue the writ, the petitioner was not entitled to appointment of counsel, notice or an opportunity to be heard; furthermore, the petitioner’s claim that this court should apply the doctrine of plain error and reverse the judgment of the habeas court was unavailing because the petitioner failed to satisfy his burden of demonstrating that the habeas court’s error was obvious. 2. There was no merit to the petitioner’s claim that the habeas court improp- erly failed to construe his petition as a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, the habeas court having lacked jurisdiction to entertain such a petition; even if this court assumed that the habeas court had a duty to construe the habeas petition as a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, the petitioner still could not prevail on his claim, as his habeas petition was filed well beyond the three year limitation period allowed for petitions for a writ of error coram nobis.

Argued April 29—officially released October 20, 2020**

Procedural History

Petition for a writ of habeas corpus, brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of Tolland, where the court, Newson, J., rendered judgment dismissing the petition; thereafter, the court denied the petition ** October 20, 2020, the date that this decision was released as a slip opinion, is the operative date for all substantive and procedural purposes. Page 62 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL July 27, 2021

350 JULY, 2021 337 Conn. 348 Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction

for certification to appeal, and the petitioner appealed. Reversed; judgment directed. Cheryl A. Juniewic, assigned counsel, for the appel- lant (petitioner). James A. Killen, senior assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, was Kevin T. Kane, former chief state’s attorney, for the appellee (respondent). Opinion

MULLINS, J. The petitioner, Dennis Cookish, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court dismissing his petition for a writ of habeas corpus and from the denial of his petition for certification to appeal.1 The habeas court, acting sua sponte and without providing the peti- tioner with notice or a hearing, dismissed the habeas petition pursuant to Practice Book § 23-292 for lack of jurisdiction. The habeas court determined that dis- missal pursuant to § 23-29 (1) was warranted and that the petition should be returned because it was apparent, on the face of the petition, that the petitioner was not in custody for the conviction being challenged. On appeal, the petitioner asserts that the habeas court improperly (1) dismissed the petition under § 23-29 without first appointing him counsel and providing him with notice and an opportunity to be heard, and (2) 1 The petitioner appealed from the judgment of the habeas court to the Appellate Court, and we transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to General Statutes § 51-199 (c) and Practice Book § 65-1. 2 Practice Book § 23-29 provides: ‘‘The judicial authority may, at any time, upon its own motion or upon motion of the respondent, dismiss the petition, or any count thereof, if it determines that: ‘‘(1) the court lacks jurisdiction; ‘‘(2) the petition, or a count thereof, fails to state a claim upon which habeas corpus relief can be granted; ‘‘(3) the petition presents the same ground as a prior petition previously denied and fails to state new facts or to proffer new evidence not reasonably available at the time of the prior petition; ‘‘(4) the claims asserted in the petition are moot or premature; ‘‘(5) any other legally sufficient ground for dismissal of the petition exists.’’ July 27, 2021 CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL Page 63

337 Conn. 348 JULY, 2021 351 Cookish v. Commissioner of Correction

failed to construe the habeas petition as a petition for a writ of error coram nobis. Consistent with this court’s recent decision in Gilch- rist v. Commissioner of Correction, 334 Conn.

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Related

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Johnson v. Commissioner of Correction
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Bluebook (online)
337 Conn. 348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cookish-v-commissioner-of-correction-conn-2020.