Jackson v. Commissioner of Correction, 138 A.3d 278

Marquis Jackson was convicted after a jury trial for crimes arising from a 1999 New Haven robbery and murder and received a total effective sentence of 45 years.
The Appellate Court affirmed the convictions; certiorari to the Connecticut Supreme Court was denied on the direct appeal. State v. Jackson, 73 Conn. App. 338, 808 A.2d 388.
Jackson filed an amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus (filed October 10, 2009) asserting, among other claims, ineffective assistance of trial counsel for inadequate pretrial investigation and poor presentation of a defense related to cell phone evidence.
After a habeas trial, the habeas court denied relief. The Appellate Court affirmed that denial, Jackson v. Commissioner of Correction, 149 Conn. App. 681, 89 A.3d 426.
The Connecticut Supreme Court granted certification limited to whether the Appellate Court properly concluded counsel rendered effective assistance concerning cell phone evidence but ultimately dismissed the appeal as improvidently granted and did not reach the merits.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance regarding cell phone evidence	Jackson: counsel failed to investigate and present a defense about cell phone evidence, depriving him of Sixth Amendment effective assistance	State: counsel’s performance was adequate concerning the cell phone evidence and did not prejudice the outcome	Appeal dismissed as certification improvidently granted; court did not decide the merits

State v. Jackson, 73 Conn. App. 338 (Conn. App. 2004) (direct appeal affirming convictions)
Jackson v. Commissioner of Correction, 149 Conn. App. 681 (Conn. App. 2014) (Appellate Court affirmed denial of habeas relief)
Jackson v. Commissioner of Correction, 313 Conn. 901 (Conn. 2014) (certification to appeal to the Supreme Court was granted limited to a cell-phone-evidence issue)