Gonzalez v. Commissioner of Correction, 145 Conn. App. 28

Alejandro Gonzalez pleaded guilty in 2005 to possession of cocaine with intent to sell pursuant to a plea agreement and was sentenced to 22 years.
In April 2010 Gonzalez filed a second amended habeas petition alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel Louis Martocchio, claiming inadequate advice about the presumption of innocence, available defenses/options, and immigration consequences of a plea.
The habeas court held an evidentiary hearing, credited Martocchio’s testimony over Gonzalez’s, and denied the petition in a September 29, 2010 oral decision.
The habeas court expressly found Martocchio had advised Gonzalez about immigration consequences; it also found Martocchio had urged continued litigation but Gonzalez chose to plead guilty.
The habeas court denied certification to appeal; Gonzalez sought review of that denial, claiming the court abused its discretion by rejecting his ineffective assistance claims.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Martocchio rendered constitutionally deficient assistance by failing to advise Gonzalez he was presumed innocent, could challenge the prosecution, or had options besides the plea	Martocchio failed to advise on presumption of innocence and alternatives, rendering plea involuntary and counsel ineffective	Habeas court credited Martocchio’s testimony that he advised Gonzalez and urged further litigation; Gonzalez chose to plead against counsel’s advice	Court held counsel was not deficient; factual credibility findings are binding and not debatable enough to warrant certification
Whether counsel was ineffective under Padilla for failing to advise that the plea could result in deportation	Gonzalez argued counsel did not adequately advise re: immigration consequences per Padilla	State argued either counsel advised Gonzalez or Padilla does not apply retroactively to convictions final before Padilla	Court dismissed Padilla claim as unavailable: Gonzalez’s conviction was final in 2005 and Chaidez bars retroactive application of Padilla

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-part test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (prejudice inquiry for ineffective assistance in plea context)
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (counsel must advise client about deportation risk in certain circumstances)
Chaidez v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 1103 (Padilla does not apply retroactively)
Morris v. Commissioner of Correction, 131 Conn. App. 839 (standard for reviewing habeas ineffective assistance claims)
Corbett v. Commissioner of Correction, 133 Conn. App. 310 (deference to trial court credibility determinations)
Simms v. Warden, 230 Conn. 608 (standards for certification to appeal)