58 Conn. App. 729 | Conn. App. Ct. | 2000
Opinion
The petitioner, Clovis Johnson, appeals from the judgment rendered by the habeas court denying his request for certification to appeal to this court following the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
The petitioner filed a subsequent petition for a writ of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel and of counsel at his first habeas hearing. Specifically, the petitioner alleged that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by advising him that the eyewitness he wanted to call to testify at trial was not credible and that he should, therefore, plead guilty to reduced charges. The petitioner further alleged that his first habeas counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to investigate and interview a favorable eyewitness for the defense, and by failing to raise this issue in the first habeas petition.
The habeas court conducted a factual review of the petitioner’s claim and concluded that the petitioner had failed to show that counsel’s representation fell below
We have fully reviewed the record and briefs and considered the oral arguments. We conclude that the petitioner has failed to make a substantial showing that he has been denied a state or federal constitutional right and, further, that he has failed to sustain his burden of persuasion that the denial of certification to appeal was a clear abuse of discretion or that an injustice has been done. See Simms v. Warden, 230 Conn. 608, 612, 646 A.2d 126 (1994); Simms v. Warden, 229 Conn. 178, 189, 640 A.2d 601 (1994); Walker v. Commissioner of Correction, 38 Conn. App. 99, 100, 659 A.2d 195, cert. denied, 234 Conn. 920, 661 A.2d 100 (1995); see also Lozada v. Deeds, 498 U.S. 430, 431-32, 111 S. Ct. 860, 112 L. Ed. 2d 956 (1991).
We conclude that the habeas court had before it sufficient evidence to find as it did and that it did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal.
The appeal is dismissed.
The habeas petition was denied with the exception that the matter was remanded to the trial court for an appropriate correction of the petitioner’s sentence consistent with the stated plea bargain.
North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S. Ct. 160, 27 L. Ed. 2d 162 (1970).
The petitioner alleged that he believed that the plea agreement called for a recommended sentence of twenty-seven months instead of twenty-seven years.
The habeas court further concluded that the proceedings rendered moot any claim regarding the failure of the petitioner’s first habeas counsel to investigate and interview an alleged eyewitness, and the failure to raise this issue in the first habeas petition.