Camacho v. Comm'r of Corr.
Decision Date | 04 March 2014 |
Docket Number | No. 34678.,34678. |
Citation | 84 A.3d 1246,148 Conn.App. 488 |
Court | Connecticut Court of Appeals |
Parties | Marco CAMACHO v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Joseph Visone, assigned counsel, for the appellant (petitioner).
Ronald G. Weller, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Brian Preleski, state's attorney, and Angela R. Macchiarulo, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (respondent).
The petitioner, Marco Camacho, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner claims that the court erred in finding that his appellate counsel did not render ineffective assistance by failing to challenge the propriety of: (1) the admission, at trial, of a 911 tape recording from the victim; and (2) reference made by the prosecutor at trial to the petitioner's nickname, “Killer.” We affirm the judgment of the habeas court.
The petitioner was charged with and, following a jury trial, convicted of four counts of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a–54a, four counts of felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a–54c, one count of tampering with evidence in violation of General Statutes § 53a–155, one count of larceny in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a–122 (a)(3), one count of robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a–134 (a)(1), one count of possession of narcotics with intent to sell in violation of General Statutes § 21a–277 (a), one count of possession of a stolen firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a–212, and one count of conspiracy to commit the crimes of murder, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, robbery in the first degree, larceny in the first degree, and tampering with evidence in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a–48, 53a–54a (b), 21a–277 (a), 53a–134 (a)(1), 53a–122 (a)(3), and 53a–155, respectively. Following the conviction, the trial court sentenced the petitioner to a total effective term of 260 years imprisonment. The petitioner unsuccessfully appealed from his conviction. State v. Camacho, 282 Conn. 328, 924 A.2d 99, cert. denied, 552 U.S. 956, 128 S.Ct. 388, 169 L.Ed.2d 273 (2007).
The facts set out by the court in Camacho provide the evidentiary backdrop for the issues before us. “At approximately 8:30 p.m., on September 25, 1996, a Southington police department emergency dispatcher received a 911 call from 932 Shuttle Meadow Road, the residence of Nick Votino. Responding to the call, the police discovered four persons dead from gunshot wounds in the master bedroom: Nick Votino,1 his daughter, Joanne Votino, Lynn Suszynski and Wayne Barrows.
(Footnote omitted.) Id., at 333–41, 924 A.2d 99.
The petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on July 10, 2007. In the amended petition dated August 16, 2011, the petitioner alleged: (1) in count one, that his constitutional right to a public trial was violated; (2) in count two, that his constitutional right to be present during the trial was violated; (3) in count three, that his constitutional right to an impartial jury was violated; (4) in count four, that his constitutional right to confrontation was violated; (5) in count five, that his constitutional rights to due processand a fair trial were violated; (6) in count six, that his constitutional right to the effective assistance of trial counsel was violated; and (7) in count seven, that his constitutional right to the effective assistance of appellate counsel was violated. The respondent, the Commissioner of Correction, filed a return on August 17, 2011, generally denying the allegations in the petition and raising the special defenses of procedural default and res judicata as to counts one through five. On September 9, 2011, the respondent filed a motion to dismiss counts one, two, and three on the ground of procedural default, and counts four and five on the ground of res judicata or, alternatively, procedural default. In response, the court dismissed counts one through three on the ground of procedural default, and count four on the ground of res judicata. The court did not, however, dismiss count five, as it found neither res judicata nor procedural default to apply given the allegations in the petition. Camacho v. Warden, Superior Court, judicial district of Tolland, Docket No. CV–07–4001839 (October 24, 2011). The matter was tried to the court, Newson, J., on the remaining three counts on September 12, 14, and 23, 2011, and January 5, 2012. On April 30, 2012, the court denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner filed a petition for certification to appeal on May 7, 2012, which was granted by the court. Because the petitioner appeals only from the court's denial of his claims as they relate to appellate counsel, we confine our review to the claims set forth in the seventh count. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.
As noted, the petitioner contends that the court erred in finding that appellate counsel did not render ineffective assistance by failing to argue that the petitioner's due process rights were violated by: (1) the admission at trial of a 911 tape recording of the victim's call for assistance; and (2) reference by the prosecutor at trial to the petitioner as “Killer.”
We first address decisional law that is applicable to the issues presented for review and the standard that sets the contours of our assessment on review. “In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 671, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the United States Supreme Court articulated a two part analysis for evaluating constitutional claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment....
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Davis v. Comm'r of Corr.
...set forth in Strickland equally applies to claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. See Camacho v. Commissioner of Correction , 148 Conn. App. 488, 494–95, 84 A.3d 1246, cert. denied, 311 Conn. 937, 88 A.3d 1227 (2014). Although appellate counsel must provide effective assista......
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State v. Harris
...at least eighteen times during closing argument beyond mere reference to defendant was improper); Camacho v. Commissioner of Correction , 148 Conn. App. 488, 503, 84 A.3d 1246 ("reference to [the defendant's nickname] by the prosecutor at trial was inappropriate"), cert. denied, 311 Conn. 9......
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Peeler v. Comm'r of Corr., AC 37382
...from counsel's perspective at the time." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Camacho v. Commissioner of Correction , 148 Conn.App. 488, 496–97, 84 A.3d 1246, cert. denied, 311 Conn. 937, 88 A.3d 1227 (2014). In the present case, appellate counsel testified that he thoroug......
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