Glen S. v. Commissioner of Correction, 223 Conn.App. 152

Glen S., the petitioner, pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine to sexual assault in a cohabiting relationship following allegations from his girlfriend.
He later filed a habeas corpus petition arguing his trial counsel was ineffective for letting him plead guilty while under the influence of prescription drugs, allegedly affecting his ability to make a knowing and voluntary plea.
At the habeas trial, petitioner attempted to call Sam Romowi as a character witness to testify about his truthfulness; the court sustained a relevancy objection to this testimony.
The evidence at the habeas trial consisted solely of the petitioner’s own testimony and the transcript of the original plea hearing.
The habeas court denied the petition, finding no deficiency in counsel’s performance and lacking credible evidence that medication impaired the plea; it also denied certification to appeal, leading to this appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Abuse of Discretion in Denying Certification to Appeal	Court erred in denying petition for certification to appeal	Petitioner failed to show any debatable or substantial issue	No abuse; petitioner did not meet required standards
Improper Exclusion of Character Witness	Romowi’s testimony was relevant to credibility, key for prejudice under Strickland	Romowi had no connection to relevant events; not relevant to plea hearing or ineffective assistance	Exclusion was proper; testimony was immaterial and untimely

North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970) (permits guilty plea without admitting guilt if evidence likely to result in conviction)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (sets standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Carraway v. Commissioner of Correction, 144 Conn. App. 461 (2013) (prejudice standard in plea context under Strickland)