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DAVID ELLISTON v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION (AC 32496)
Lavine, Alvord and Bear, Js. Submitted on briefs September 9--officially released October 11, 2011

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Tolland, Nazzaro, J.) Cameron R. Dorman, special public defender, filed a brief for the appellant (petitioner). John C. Smriga, state's attorney, Linda Currie-Zeffiro, assistant state's attorney, and Gerard P. Eisenman, senior assistant state's attorney, filed a brief for the appellee (respondent).

Opinion

PER CURIAM. The petitioner, David Elliston, appeals following the habeas court's denial of his petition for certification to appeal from the judgment denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court abused its discretion by (1) denying his petition for certification to appeal and (2) denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus grounded in ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We conclude that the habeas court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal and therefore dismiss the appeal. ``Faced with the habeas court's denial of certification to appeal, a petitioner's first burden is to demonstrate that the habeas court's ruling constituted an abuse of discretion. Simms v. Warden, 230 Conn. 608, 612, 646 A.2d 126 (1994). To prove an abuse of discretion, the petitioner must demonstrate that the issues are debatable among jurists of reason; that a court could resolve the issues [in a different manner]; or that the questions are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. . . . Id., 616, quoting Lozada v. Deeds, 498 U.S. 430, 432, 111 S. Ct. 860, 112 L. Ed. 2d 956 (1991). If the petitioner succeeds in surmounting that hurdle, the petitioner must then demonstrate that the judgment of the habeas court should be reversed on its merits. Id., 612. We examine the petitioner's underlying claim[s] of ineffective assistance of counsel in order to determine whether the habeas court abused its discretion in denying the petition for certification to appeal. . . . J.R. v. Commissioner of Correction, 105 Conn. App. 827, 831, 941 A.2d 348, cert. denied, 286 Conn. 915, 945 A.2d 976 (2008). A criminal defendant is constitutionally entitled to adequate and effective assistance of counsel at all critical stages of criminal proceedings. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984).'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Atkinson v. Commissioner of Correction, 125 Conn. App. 632, 637, 9 A.3d 407 (2010), cert. denied, 300 Conn. 919, 14 A.3d 1006 (2011). ``A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel consists of two components: a performance prong and a prejudice prong. To satisfy the performance prong, a claimant must demonstrate that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed . . . by the [s]ixth [a]mendment. . . . Put another way, the petitioner must demonstrate that his attorney's representation was not reasonably competent or within the range of competence displayed by lawyers with ordinary training and skill in the criminal law. . . . To satisfy the prejudice prong, a claimant must demonstrate that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.'' (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 638.

The record discloses the following relevant facts. In 2002, a jury found the petitioner guilty of attempt to commit murder in violation of General Statutes

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