Person v. Commissioner of Correction

78 A.3d 213, 146 Conn. App. 477, 2013 WL 5620963, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 500
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedOctober 22, 2013
DocketAC 34227
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 78 A.3d 213 (Person v. Commissioner of Correction) 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
Person v. Commissioner of Correction, 78 A.3d 213, 146 Conn. App. 477, 2013 WL 5620963, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 500 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

The petitioner, Derek Person, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying in part his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court erred in concluding that he had been afforded the effective assistance of trial counsel because the habeas court’s [479]*479findings that trial counsel (1) informed the petitioner that there was an alternative plea option, and (2) thoroughly advised the petitioner as to the consequences of choosing a plea option with a range were clearly erroneous. We affirm the judgment of the habeas court.

The following facts and procedural history are relevant to our disposition of the petitioner’s appeal. On October 13, 2004, the petitioner was charged with, inter alia, robbeiy in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134 (a) (2). On June 27, 2005, the petitioner entered a plea of guilty to one count of robbery in the first degree, pursuant to the following plea agreement: twenty years of incarceration, execution suspended after ten years as a “cap,” with a right to argue for less, but not to go below the mandatory statutory minimum of five years, with a period of probation and reasonable special conditions to be set by the court (range offer).

At the plea canvass, the petitioner indicated to the court, Carroll, J., that he had had adequate time to discuss the case and the decision to plead guilty with his attorney, Justin Smith, that he had gone over all of the state’s evidence against him, along with the nature and elements of the crime with Smith, that he understood the consequences of pleading guilty, and that he was satisfied with Smith’s representation. The court found that the petitioner’s plea was entered knowingly and voluntarily, with the assistance of competent counsel and that a factual basis for the plea existed. The court then accepted the guilty plea and ordered a pre-sentence investigation. On September 29, 2005, the court sentenced the petitioner to twenty years of incarceration, execution suspended after nine years, with five years of probation.

The petitioner filed an amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus claiming that Smith had failed to adequately advise him as to the consequences of choosing [480]*480the range offer. At the habeas trial, the petitioner claimed that Smith had failed to inform him that the state had made an alternative plea offer in which the execution of the petitioner’s sentence would be suspended after eight years of incarceration, with a term of probation to be determined by the court (term of years offer).

The habeas court, Hon. John F. Mulcahy, Jr., judge trial referee, in its memorandum of decision, found that the petitioner knew of both plea offers and that Smith had thoroughly advised the petitioner of the consequences of choosing the range offer, and it concluded that the petitioner had been afforded effective assistance of trial counsel. Thus, the habeas court denied in part the petitioner’s amended petition for a writ of habeas coipus,1 and, on the granting of certification, the petitioner appealed to this court.

“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.) Vazquez v. Commissioner of Correction, 128 Conn. App. 425, 429, 17 A.3d 1089, cert. denied, 301 Conn. 926, 22 A.3d 1277 (2011). “A court’s finding of fact is clearly erroneous and its conclusions drawn from that finding lack sufficient evidence when there is no evidence in the record to support [the court’s finding of fact] ... or when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.” (Internal quotation marks [481]*481omitted.) State v. Benjamin, 299 Conn. 223, 236, 9 A.3d 338 (2010).

“A criminal defendant is constitutionally entitled to adequate and effective assistance of counsel at all critical stages of criminal proceedings. ... 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 representation was not reasonably competent or within the range of competence displayed by lawyers with ordinary training and skill in the criminal law.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Ebron v. Commissioner of Correction, 307 Conn. 342, 351, 53 A.3d 983 (2012), cert. denied sub nom. Arnone v. Ebron, U.S. , 133 S. Ct. 1726, 185 L. Ed. 2d 802 (2013). “In a case . . . where a defendant pleads guilty to less favorable terms and claims that ineffective assistance of counsel caused him to miss out on a more favorable earlier [or alternative] plea offer . . . [this court must determine] whether he would have accepted the offer to plead pursuant to the terms earlier [or otherwise] proposed.” Missouri v. Frye, U.S. , 132 S. Ct. 1399, 1410, 182 L. Ed. 2d 379 (2012). Furthermore, our Supreme Court has held that, in order to find prejudice, we must also conclude that “the trial judge would have conditionally accepted the plea agreement if it had been presented to the court.” Ebron v. Commissioner of Correction, supra, 357.

I

The petitioner claims that the habeas court erred in finding that he knew of both plea offers before entering his guilty plea because such a finding was clearly erroneous. He argues that he presented unequivocal testimony that Smith did not advise him of both offers, and that Smith’s testimony was ambiguous on the issue, [482]*482as he could not recall specific details concerning his conversation with the petitioner about the offers. The respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, argues that the petitioner’s amended petition for writ of habeas corpus conceded the fact that he knew of both plea options before entering his guilty plea.2 Additionally, the respondent argues that the habeas court credited Smith’s testimony, and, that, in light of that testimony, the habeas court’s finding that the petitioner knew of both plea options was not clearly erroneous. We agree with the respondent.

Smith testified that he met with the attorney who previously had represented the petitioner to discuss the case, and that he believed that it was at this point that he learned of the alternative offers. He also testified that he reviewed the state’s file and then met with the state’s attorney. Notes from Smith’s client file reflected both offers, although Smith testified that he was unsure of whether he took them after his meeting with the petitioner’s previous attorney, or after his discussion with the state’s attorney.

Smith also testified that he advised the petitioner of both offers.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 A.3d 213, 146 Conn. App. 477, 2013 WL 5620963, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/person-v-commissioner-of-correction-connappct-2013.