Spyke v. Commissioner of Correction, 145 Conn. App. 419

Petitioner Michael Spyke was arrested in April 1998 and charged with murder, conspiracy to murder, weapon in a motor vehicle, and a firearm-related felony.
He was tried in December 1999; convicted on all charges except conspiracy to commit murder, which ended in a mistrial.
On direct appeal, the Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the murder convictions in January 2002.
In January 2008, Spyke filed an amended habeas petition asserting improper jury instruction on intent; the respondent moved for summary judgment.
The habeas court granted summary judgment in February 2008 and denied certification to appeal; in March 2012, a stipulated judgment restored Spyke’s right to appeal from the denial of his habeas petition.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the habeas court abused its discretion by denying certification to appeal	Spyke contends abuse of discretion in denial of certification	Respondent argues no abuse; merits of underlying claim irrelevant to certification	No abuse; certification denial affirmed
Whether appellate counsel's failure to raise instructional-error claim was ineffective	Appellate counsel should have raised the issue on direct appeal	Claim is meritless; no deficient performance or prejudice	Appellate counsel's performance not ineffective; meritless claim

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. (1984)) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance)
Simms v. Warden, 230 Conn. 608 (Conn. (1994)) (abuse of discretion standard for habeas appeals)
Logan v. Commissioner of Correction, 125 Conn. App. 744 (Conn. App. 2010) (standard for abuse of discretion on certification)
Sekou v. Warden, 216 Conn. 678 (Conn. 1990) (unmeritorious claims not a basis for ineffective assistance)
State v. DeJesus, 260 Conn. 466 (Conn. 2002) (jury instruction reviewed as a whole; correct if legally sound)
Small v. Commissioner of Correction, 286 Conn. 707 (Conn. 2008) (ineffective-assistance standard; prejudice prong required)
State v. Spyke, 68 Conn. App. 97 (Conn. App. 2002) (direct appeal affirmed on prior convictions)