92 Conn. App. 534 | Conn. App. Ct. | 2005
Opinion
The petitioner, Alberto Nieves, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court, denying his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus in which he alleged that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. We affirm the judgment of the court.
The facts of the underlying criminal case are set out in State v. Nieves, 69 Conn. App. 96, 793 A.2d 290, cert. denied, 260 Conn. 930, 798 A.2d 972 (2002), in which we affirmed the petitioner’s conviction of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a and carrying a pistol without a permit in violation of General Statutes § 29-35 (a). Briefly, on June 28, 1996, the petitioner and four other men were involved in an altercation with the victim, David Laureano, whom the defendant fatally shot. When the police apprehended the petitioner, he shouted that he had not shot or killed anyone. Forensic tests revealed the presence of lead on the petitioner’s hands. State v. Nieves, supra, 97-99.
“On appeal, we review a habeas court’s findings of fact under the clearly erroneous standard of review .... [WJhether the representation a defendant received at trial was constitutionally inadequate is a mixed question of law and fact. ... As such, that question requires plenary review by this court unfettered by the clearly erroneous standard. . . .
“We cannot, in a habeas corpus appeal, disturb underlying historical facts found by the habeas court unless they are clearly erroneous. . . . The habeas court judge, as the trier of the facts, is the sole arbiter of the credibility of witnesses and the weight to be given to their testimony.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Edwards v. Commissioner of Correction, 88 Conn. App. 169, 172-73, 868 A.2d 125, cert. denied, 273 Conn. 941, 875 A.2d 43 (2005).
The petitioner alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to investigate a psychiatric defense fully, failed to notify the state of the psychiatric defense and failed to present a psychiatric defense on the petitioner’s behalf to mitigate the charges against him. The petitioner claimed that he suffered from extreme emotional disturbance and that if such evidence had been presented at the criminal trial, the result
On the basis of our review of the record, including the court’s memorandum of decision and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the court properly found that the petitioner was not denied the effective assistance of counsel, as he failed to “overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action might be considered sound trial strategy. ” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 690.
The judgment is affirmed.