AC41186 - Saunders v. Commissioner of Correction
(Dismissal of petition on the grounds “his due process
claims, predicated on allegations that he was incompetent to stand trial and
that the state and the trial court failed to comply with General Statutes §
54-56d, were procedurally defaulted. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the court
improperly dismissed the petition because (1) his due process claims were not
subject to the procedural default rule, or (2) alternatively, he sufficiently
pleaded cause and prejudice to overcome the procedural defaults and allow judicial
review of his claims. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the
habeas court”.)
AC42049 - Watts v. Commissioner of Correction (“In his two underlying criminal cases, the petitioner rejected a plea offer from the court, Clifford, J., to resolve the two cases because he allegedly was not properly advised of the charges, defenses, and best course of action regarding the offer, and, therefore, was unaware of ‘the consequences of rejecting [the offer].’ Following a jury trial, the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to ninety-five years in prison, the functional equivalent of a life sentence.1 The petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in which he alleged (1) that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel regarding the plea offer he rejected, and (2) that his sentence violated the eighth amendment to the United States constitution and article first, §§ 8 and 9, of the constitution of Connecticut. The habeas court denied the petitioner’s first claim on the grounds that trial counsel’s representation was not deficient and that the petitioner failed to prove prejudice. The court dismissed the cruel and unusual punishment claims ‘without prejudice,’ reasoning that, if it ruled on the merits of the claim, it would be bound to follow this court’s decision in State v. Williams-Bey, 167 Conn. App. 744, 144 A.3d 467, cert. granted, 326 Conn. 920, 169 A.3d 793 (2017), which, at the time, was under review by our Supreme Court”).
AC41052 - Crawley v. Commissioner of Correction
(Habeas appeal “dismissing in part and denying in part his
amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. He contends that the court
improperly rejected his claims of ineffective assistance on the part of both his
criminal trial counsel and his first habeas counsel. We affirm the judgment of
the habeas court... This appeal concerns the petitioner’s convictions on two
counts of possession of narcotics with the intent to sell by a person who is
not drug-dependent in violation of General Statutes § 21a-278 (b)”)