Sinchak v. Commissioner of Correction, 163 A.3d 1208

Background

In 1995 Anthony Sinchak was convicted after a jury trial of murder and two counts of first-degree kidnapping; he received a total effective sentence of 96 years. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal.
The victim was shot at an after-hours social club; key prosecution witnesses were Jo Orlandi, Laura Ryan, and Lisa Fruin, whose testimony implicated Sinchak. Other witnesses gave conflicting accounts or placed others at the scene.
Sinchak filed multiple habeas petitions; this action is a later habeas petition (fifth amended) alleging (a) the guilty verdict was against the weight of the evidence, and (b) ineffective assistance by trial, appellate, and prior habeas counsel for failing to raise weight-of-evidence and related closing-argument issues.
The respondent pleaded procedural default and that weight-of-evidence claims can be decided only by the trial judge who presided over the original trial (per State v. Griffin).
The habeas court held the weight-of-evidence claim procedurally defaulted and, under Griffin, unreviewable by a later judge; it rejected ineffective-assistance claims based on failure to raise that claim for lack of demonstrated prejudice. The court also rejected the closing-argument ineffective-assistance claim on the merits.
The Appellate Court affirmed: Griffin bars first-time weight-of-evidence review by a habeas court, so prejudice cannot be shown for counsel’s failure to raise it; counsel’s closing argument was within reasonable professional judgment under Strickland.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the jury verdict was against the weight of the evidence (due process)	Sinchak: verdict was against the weight of the evidence and warrants relief	Respondent: Sinchak never raised it at trial or on direct appeal; claim is procedurally defaulted and, per Griffin, not reviewable by a later judge	Held: Procedurally defaulted and unreviewable in habeas; Griffin prevents habeas court from assessing weight on a cold record, so no relief
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to move for judgment of acquittal or to raise weight-of-evidence issues	Sinchak: counsel’s failure prevented timely weight-of-evidence review and caused prejudice	Respondent: Same procedural/default bar; without ability to assess weight claim, prejudice can't be shown	Held: Cannot show prejudice because only the trial judge can decide weight claims under Griffin; ineffective-assistance claim fails
Whether appellate counsel was ineffective for not raising weight-of-evidence on direct appeal	Sinchak: appellate counsel’s omission was deficient and prejudicial	Respondent: The claim was not preserved at trial; Griffin blocks review on appeal from cold record, so no prejudice shown	Held: Ineffective-assistance claim fails because petitioner cannot show likely success on weight claim absent trial judge’s evaluation
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to marshal facts in closing (and related prior-habeas counsel claim)	Sinchak: closing failed to highlight key discrepancies and evidence favoring him	Respondent: Closing was a matter of trial strategy; record shows counsel argued credibility and key defenses	Held: Counsel’s closing argument was reasonable; performance and prejudice prongs under Strickland not met; derivative prior-habeas claim likewise fails

Key Cases Cited

State v. Griffin, 253 Conn. 195 (2000) (only the trial judge who presided over the trial can meaningfully assess whether a verdict is against the weight of the evidence)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance: performance and prejudice)
Horn v. Commissioner of Correction, 321 Conn. 767 (2016) (discussion of Strickland standard and prejudice analysis)
Johnson v. Commissioner of Correction, 285 Conn. 556 (2008) (ineffective assistance can satisfy cause-and-prejudice to excuse procedural default)