Rose v. Commissioner of Correction
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In the State of Connecticut, the petitioner, who was convicted of felony murder and other crimes, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in 2018, more than five years after his conviction was deemed final. The petitioner initially filed a timely habeas petition in 2012 but withdrew it due to dissatisfaction with his assigned counsel. When filing his 2018 habeas petition, the Commissioner of Correction moved for an order to show cause why the petition should not be dismissed as untimely under § 52-470 (c) and (e). The petitioner argued that good cause existed to excuse the untimely filing since his previous counsel had failed to inform him of the deadline to refile his petition. The habeas court dismissed the 2018 petition as untimely, a decision upheld by the Appellate Court.
On appeal to the Supreme Court of Connecticut, the Court reversed the judgment of the Appellate Court, concluding that the habeas court’s determination that no good cause existed was based on a clearly erroneous factual finding. The Court found that the habeas court wrongly assumed that the petitioner's previous counsel had advised him to refile his habeas petition immediately after withdrawing the first one. The Court also clarified that, under the totality of the circumstances, ineffective assistance of counsel can be considered an external, objective factor that could establish good cause to excuse the late filing of a habeas petition under § 52-470 (c) and (e). The case was remanded for a new hearing and a good cause determination under § 52-470 (c) and (e) in light of its factual findings with respect to the performance of prior habeas counsel.
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