Campbell v. Commissioner of Correction, 31 A.3d 1182

Petitioner Roosevelt Campbell pled guilty under the Alford doctrine to manslaughter in the first degree and assault in the first degree; sentenced to 20 years, 10 years, consecutive, with a 5 year mandatory minimum, and did not appeal directly.
Campbell filed a habeas petition on January 5, 2007 alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel.
On January 27, 2010, habeas counsel filed an Anders brief seeking permission to withdraw; the habeas court denied the motion as untimely on February 5, 2010.
A habeas trial was held on February 25, 2010; Campbell testified about his plea, sentences, and deportation expectations, and claimed counsel had done nothing and wished to withdraw.
The habeas court denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus; on March 9, 2010, Campbell petitioned for certification to appeal alleging sentencing procedures; the court denied on March 10, 2010, and the present appeal followed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the denial of certification to appeal was an abuse of discretion.	Campbell contends the denial was improper due to habeas counsel's withdrawal issues.	Commissioner argues the issues were not raised in the petition for certification, so no abuse of discretion review applies.	No abuse; issues not raised in the certification petition cannot be reviewed.
Whether denial of counsel’s withdrawal affected effective assistance/conflict of interest and trial fairness.	Campbell asserts ineffective assistance and conflict due to counsel’s withdrawal denial.	Not raised in the petition for certification; review denied.	Not reviewable because not raised in the certification petition.
Whether the petition for certification properly identified grounds for appeal.	Grounds were framed as sentencing procedures but were not expanded to include withdrawal or conflict claims.	Petition limited to sentencing procedures; other claims were not identified under certification.	The petition failed to raise the asserted grounds; review denied.

Simms v. Warden, 229 Conn. 178 (1994) (two-pronged standard for certification to appeal from habeas decisions)
Simms v. Warden, 230 Conn. 608 (1994) (alternative articulation of the same standard)
Perry v. Commissioner of Correction, 131 Conn. App. 792 (2011) (cannot review issues not raised in certification petition)
Logan v. Commissioner of Correction, 125 Conn. App. 744 (2010) (declines review where issues not properly raised in certification petition)
Mitchell v. Commissioner of Correction, 68 Conn. App. 1 (2002) (avoid ambuscade of habeas judge by broad construction of certification grounds)