Court Opinion

ID: 9951530
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-18 13:02:52.628277+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:41:25.942785
License: Public Domain

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          MELVIN DELGADO v. COMMISSIONER
                  OF CORRECTION
                     (AC 45982)
                          Moll, Clark and Seeley, Js.

                                    Syllabus

The petitioner sought relief in a third petition for a writ of habeas corpus,
     claiming that P, his counsel during his second habeas action, had pro-
     vided ineffective assistance by failing to raise claims of ineffective assis-
     tance against G, the petitioner’s criminal trial counsel, and D, his counsel
     on direct appeal from his conviction. The petitioner had been convicted,
     after a jury trial, of murder as an accessory as a result of a gang related
     argument during which he and another individual shot at the unarmed
     victim as he was attempting to flee. The petitioner gave a statement to
     the police in which he admitted shooting the victim and claimed that
     the victim had reached toward the front of his waist as if he were about
     to pull out a gun. The petitioner did not indicate in the statement that
     he saw an actual weapon. Having determined that the evidence was
     lacking to support a defense of self-defense and that the outcome of
     the trial hinged on the petitioner’s statement to the police, G decided
     not to request a jury instruction on self-defense and instead employed
     a trial strategy of attacking the credibility of the police involved in
     the petitioner’s arrest and discrediting the statement’s reliability while
     highlighting facts about the petitioner that might appeal to the jurors’
     sympathy. Thereafter, the court instructed the jury on the charge of
     murder, a specific intent crime. Although the court initially read the
     murder statute (§ 53a-54a (a)), which contained language requiring the
     specific intent to cause the victim’s death, it also read the entire statutory
     (§ 53a-3 (11)) definition of intent, which included language on both
     specific intent and general intent to engage in conduct. The habeas court
     rendered judgment denying the petition for a writ of habeas corpus,
     concluding that the petitioner had not established that either G or D
     had rendered ineffective assistance, and, thus, that he could not prevail
     on his ineffective assistance claims against P. The court granted the
     petitioner’s petition for certification to appeal, and the petitioner
     appealed to this court. Held:
1. The petitioner could not prevail on his claim that P rendered ineffective
     assistance when he failed to raise a claim that G had rendered deficient
     performance when she declined to request a self-defense instruction at
     the criminal trial: G’s decision was a matter of sound trial strategy, as
     a defense of self-defense was inconsistent with the evidence that the
     unarmed victim was shot from behind as he was fleeing, and G was
     unable to find a witness or other evidence to corroborate the petitioner’s
     belief that the victim was reaching for a weapon at the time of the
     shooting; moreover, G sought to have the jury consider only secondarily
     that the petitioner may have acted in self-defense and made the tactical
     decision to afford the jury two pathways to find the petitioner not
     guilty of murder without foreclosing the reasonable and well supported
     strategy of attacking the credibility of his statement to the police, as
     G’s main objective was to discredit the statement in an attempt to
     persuade the jury to disregard evidence that was key to the state’s case
     while her secondary objective was to suggest that, if the jury were to
     believe the petitioner’s statement, it also might believe that he acted in
     self-defense when he shot at the victim.
2. The habeas court correctly rejected the petitioner’s ineffective assistance
     claims against P concerning the trial court’s jury instruction on the
     intent element of murder, as the petitioner was not prejudiced by G’s
     failure to object to the instruction, and D did not improperly fail to raise
     the issue on direct appeal:
    a. Although G rendered deficient performance when she failed to object to
    the intent instruction, the record in its entirety, including the petitioner’s
    incriminating statement to the police and the corroborating physical
    evidence presented by the state, showed that the petitioner failed to
    demonstrate a substantial likelihood that the outcome of his criminal
  trial would have been different had G objected to the instruction: although
  the court incorrectly read the entire definition of intent in § 53a-3 (11),
  it repeatedly referenced the specific intent language when it thereafter
  instructed the jury on the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the
  first degree with a firearm and on accessorial liability as it applied to
  the murder charge and to manslaughter; moreover, the court correctly
  distinguished the intent elements of manslaughter and accessory to man-
  slaughter from the specific intent language of the murder charge and
  accessory to murder, and, by stressing and emphasizing the differences
  between the elements of the offenses under which the petitioner could
  be found guilty, the court eliminated any risk of confusion that could
  have been caused by its improper prior instruction on intent to commit
  murder, and, thus, it was not reasonably possible that the jury was misled
  by the incorrect instruction on the element of intent.
  b. P did not render ineffective assistance by failing to claim that D
  improperly failed to raise the issue of the incorrect intent instruction
  on direct appeal, this court having previously determined, on the basis
  of its review of the merits of the underlying claim, that it was not
  reasonably probable that the petitioner would have prevailed on
  direct appeal.
    Argued November 14, 2023—officially released March 19, 2024

                           Procedural History

  Amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus,
brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of
Tolland and tried to the court, Oliver, J.; judgment
denying the petition, from which the petitioner, on the
granting of certification, appealed to this court.
Affirmed.
  Robert L. O’Brien, assigned counsel, with whom, on
the brief, was Christopher Y. Duby, assigned counsel,
for the appellant (petitioner).
  Brett R. Aiello, assistant state’s attorney, with whom,
on the brief, were John P. Doyle, Jr., state’s attorney,
and Jo Anne Sulik, supervisory assistant state’s attor-
ney, for the appellee (respondent).
                         Opinion

   MOLL, J. The petitioner, Melvin Delgado, appeals,
following the granting of his petition for certification
to appeal, from the judgment of the habeas court deny-
ing his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On
appeal, the petitioner claims that the court improperly
concluded that his criminal trial counsel, Attorney
Kimberly Graham, and his appellate counsel, Attorney
Theresa M. Dalton, did not render ineffective assistance
during the criminal proceedings underlying his convic-
tion or in the direct appeal from his conviction, respec-
tively, a conclusion that necessarily defeated the peti-
tioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel
directed at his second habeas counsel, Attorney Laljeeb-
hai R. Patel. We disagree and, accordingly, affirm the
judgment of the habeas court.
   The following facts, as set forth by our Supreme Court
in the petitioner’s direct appeal from his criminal con-
viction; see State v. Delgado, 247 Conn. 616, 725 A.2d 306
(1999); or as undisputed in the record, and procedural
history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal.
‘‘On the evening of December 20, 1994, the [petitioner],
a member of the Los Solidos street gang, was socializing
with friends at a party in an apartment in Hartford’s
Dutch Point housing project (Dutch Point). A fellow Los
Solidos gang member, identified only by the nickname
‘Cheesecake,’ also was present at the party. Late in
the evening, the [petitioner], who was carrying a nine
millimeter pistol, left the party and went to meet
Cheesecake at a nearby store located at 63 Norwich
Street. Cheesecake was armed with a .38 caliber
revolver.
   ‘‘Shortly after midnight, while he was walking from
Dutch Point to the store, the [petitioner] encountered
the victim, Anthony Battle, near the intersection of Ston-
ington and Norwich Streets. The [petitioner] recognized
the victim as a member of Twenty Love, a rival gang with
which the Los Solidos gang was at war. The [petitioner]
approached the victim from the Stonington Street side
of the intersection, and the two men engaged in a heated
argument. The [petitioner], who at this time was approx-
imately fifteen to twenty feet from the victim, drew his
pistol and began firing at the victim. While the [peti-
tioner] was shooting at the victim, Cheesecake, who
was standing at the Norwich Street side of the intersec-
tion, also opened fire on the victim. The [petitioner]
and Cheesecake continued to shoot at the victim as
he attempted to flee. After firing thirteen rounds, the
[petitioner] watched as the wounded victim climbed a
fence and escaped into a nearby park. Thereafter, the
[petitioner] and Cheesecake left the scene separately.
   ‘‘Within minutes, two Hartford police officers arrived
at the scene of the shooting and found the victim lying
on the ground in intense pain. He had been shot twice,
once in the back of the right leg and once in the back
of the right arm. The victim told the officers that he
had been shot by members of Los Solidos and that at
least one of the shooters was Hispanic. The victim was
transported to Hartford Hospital, where he subse-
quently died from loss of blood caused by his gunshot
wounds.’’ Id., 619–20.
   The petitioner subsequently was arrested and
charged with murder in violation of General Statutes
§ 53a-54a1 and with possession of a firearm during the
commission of a class A, B or C felony in violation of
General Statutes § 53-202k.2 Following a jury trial, dur-
ing which the petitioner was represented by Graham,
the petitioner was convicted of being an accessory to
murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-83 and
53a-54a, and of possession of a firearm during the com-
mission of a class A, B or C felony in violation of § 53-
202k. See id., 618. The petitioner was sentenced to a
total effective sentence of sixty-five years of imprison-
ment. Id., 634. Thereafter, the petitioner, represented
by Dalton, appealed from the judgment of conviction
directly to our Supreme Court pursuant to General Stat-
utes (Rev. to 1997) § 51-199 (b). Id., 618 n.3. On direct
appeal, our Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of
conviction as to the accessory to murder charge but
vacated the judgment of conviction with respect to the
firearm charge to reflect the fact that § 53-202k does
not constitute a separate offense.4 See id., 634.
   In 2004, following the disposition of his direct appeal,
the petitioner commenced his first habeas action, in
which he was represented by Attorney Robert J. McKay
(first habeas counsel). In an amended petition for a writ
of habeas corpus dated February 9, 2007, the petitioner
asserted, inter alia, that Graham and Dalton had ren-
dered ineffective assistance as criminal trial counsel
and appellate counsel on direct appeal, respectively.
Following a trial, the habeas court, Fuger, J., denied
the amended habeas petition. Upon the habeas court’s
denial of certification to appeal from the judgment deny-
ing his amended habeas petition, the petitioner
appealed to this court, which dismissed the appeal.
See Delgado v. Commissioner of Correction, 114 Conn.
App. 609, 618, 970 A.2d 792, cert. denied, 292 Conn. 920,
974 A.2d 721 (2009).
   In 2009, the petitioner commenced a second habeas
action. In an amended petition for a writ of habeas
corpus dated March 22, 2011, the petitioner, repre-
sented by Patel, asserted that McKay had rendered inef-
fective assistance as prior habeas counsel. Following
a trial, the habeas court, Bright, J., denied the amended
habeas petition and the ensuing petition for certification
to appeal, whereupon the petitioner, on July 25, 2011,
appealed to this court. On March 19, 2014, this court
dismissed the appeal. See Delgado v. Commissioner of
Correction, Connecticut Appellate Court, Docket No.
AC 33706 (appeal dismissed March 19, 2014).
   Meanwhile, in 2013, during the pendency of the
appeal from the judgment rendered in the second
habeas action, the petitioner commenced a third habeas
action, which underlies the present appeal. In an
amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus dated July
10, 2020 (operative petition), the petitioner asserted
four counts of ineffective assistance of counsel, of
which only counts one, three, and four are relevant to
this appeal.5 In counts one and three, the petitioner
alleged that Patel had rendered ineffective assistance by
failing to raise claims of ineffective assistance against
McKay for failing to assert certain claims that Graham
had rendered ineffective assistance during the criminal
trial. Specifically, the petitioner alleged that Graham
had rendered ineffective assistance because she failed
(1) to request a self-defense jury instruction and (2) to
object to an erroneous intent instruction articulated by
the trial court on the murder charge. In count four, the
petitioner alleged that Patel had rendered ineffective
assistance by failing to raise the claim that McKay had
rendered ineffective assistance when he failed to assert
that Dalton had rendered ineffective assistance on
direct appeal by failing to raise the issue of the errone-
ous intent instruction. The respondent, the Commis-
sioner of Correction, filed a return and various special
defenses.
  The matter was tried to the habeas court, Oliver, J.,
on June 7, 2021, and April 28, 2022. The court admitted
various exhibits, including copies of transcripts from
the petitioner’s criminal trial, and heard testimony from
witnesses, including Patel, McKay, Graham, Dalton, and
Attorney John R. Gulash, the petitioner’s legal expert.
   On September 14, 2022, the court issued a memoran-
dum of decision denying the petitioner’s operative peti-
tion. In addressing the issue of the self-defense instruc-
tion vis-à-vis count one, the court concluded that the
petitioner had failed to prove that Graham’s perfor-
mance was deficient under the first part of the test for
ineffective assistance of counsel set forth in Strickland
v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L.
Ed. 2d 674 (1984). Regarding the issue of the intent
instruction raised in count three, although the court
found that Graham had rendered deficient performance
by failing to object to that instruction, it concluded that
the petitioner had not satisfied the second part of the
Strickland test by establishing that he was prejudiced
as a result of Graham’s deficient performance. With
regard to count four, predicated on the allegation that
Dalton had rendered ineffective assistance on direct
appeal by failing to claim that the trial court’s jury
instruction on intent was improper, the habeas court
determined that the petitioner had failed to satisfy
either the performance prong or the prejudice prong
under Strickland. As the court further explained, its
conclusions that Graham and Dalton did not render
ineffective assistance were dispositive of the claims
against Patel set forth in counts one, three, and four.
Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition for certifica-
tion to appeal, which the court granted. This appeal
followed. Additional facts and procedural history will
be set forth as necessary.
   Before turning to the petitioner’s claims, we set forth
the well settled standard of review governing challenges
to a habeas court’s judgment on ineffective assistance
of counsel claims. ‘‘In a habeas appeal, this court cannot
disturb the underlying facts found by the habeas court
unless they are clearly erroneous, but our review of
whether the facts as found by the habeas court consti-
tuted a violation of the petitioner’s constitutional right
to effective assistance of counsel is plenary. . . . In a
habeas trial, the court is the trier of fact and, thus, is
the sole arbiter of the credibility of witnesses and the
weight to be given to their testimony . . . . It is simply
not the role of this court on appeal to second-guess
credibility determinations made by the habeas court.
. . .
   ‘‘[I]t is well established that [a] criminal defendant
is constitutionally entitled to adequate and effective
assistance of counsel at all critical stages of criminal
proceedings. . . . This right arises under the sixth and
fourteenth amendments to the United States constitu-
tion and article first, § 8, of the Connecticut constitu-
tion. . . . It is axiomatic that the right to counsel is
the right to the effective assistance of counsel. . . .
   ‘‘To succeed on a claim of ineffective assistance of
counsel, a habeas petitioner must satisfy the two-
pronged test articulated in Strickland v. Washington,
[supra, 466 U.S. 687]. Strickland requires that a peti-
tioner satisfy both 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 guaran-
teed . . . by the [s]ixth [a]mendment. . . . 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. . . .
   ‘‘It is axiomatic that courts may decide against a
petitioner on either prong [of the Strickland test],
whichever is easier. . . . [T]he petitioner’s failure to
prove either [the performance prong or the prejudice
prong] is fatal to a habeas petition. . . . [A] court need
not determine whether counsel’s performance was defi-
cient before examining the prejudice suffered by the
[petitioner] as a result of the alleged deficiencies. . . .
If it is easier to dispose of an ineffectiveness claim on
the ground of lack of sufficient prejudice . . . that
course should be followed.’’ (Citations omitted; internal
quotation marks omitted.) Mercer v. Commissioner of
Correction, 222 Conn. App. 713, 722–23, 306 A.3d 1073
(2023), cert. denied, 348 Conn. 953, A.3d      (2024).
   ‘‘Our Supreme Court, in Lozada v. Warden, [223
Conn. 834, 843, 613 A.2d 818 (1992)], established that
habeas corpus is an appropriate remedy for the ineffec-
tive assistance of appointed habeas counsel, authoriz-
ing . . . a second petition for a writ of habeas corpus
. . . challenging the performance of counsel in litigat-
ing an initial petition for a writ of habeas corpus . . .
[that] had claimed ineffective assistance of counsel at
the petitioner’s underlying criminal trial or on direct
appeal. . . . Our Supreme Court subsequently expanded
Lozada’s holding to encompass third habeas petitions
challenging the performance of second habeas counsel.
. . . Nevertheless, the court in Lozada also emphasized
that a petitioner asserting a habeas on a habeas faces
the herculean task . . . of proving in accordance with
[Strickland] both (1) that his appointed habeas counsel
was ineffective, and (2) that his trial counsel was inef-
fective. . . .
  ‘‘Simply put, a petitioner cannot succeed . . . on a
claim that his habeas counsel was ineffective by failing
to raise a claim against trial counsel or prior habeas
counsel in a prior habeas action unless the petitioner
ultimately will be able to demonstrate that the claim
against trial or prior habeas counsel would have had a
reasonable probability of success if raised.’’ (Citations
omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Crocker v.
Commissioner of Correction, 220 Conn. App. 567, 585–
86, 300 A.3d 607, cert. denied, 348 Conn. 911, 303 A.3d
10 (2023).
  On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court
improperly rendered judgment in the respondent’s favor
on counts one, three, and four of the operative petition,
which asserted ineffective assistance of counsel claims
against Patel predicated on the derivative allegations
that Graham and Dalton had rendered ineffective assis-
tance during the criminal trial and on direct appeal,
respectively. For the reasons that follow, we disagree.
                            I
   The petitioner first claims that the habeas court
improperly rendered judgment in the respondent’s favor
on count one of the operative petition, in which the
petitioner asserted an ineffective assistance of counsel
claim as to Patel predicated in relevant part on the
allegation that Graham had provided ineffective assis-
tance by failing to request a jury instruction on self-
defense. The petitioner asserts that the court incor-
rectly concluded that he had failed to satisfy the perfor-
mance prong under Strickland. In support of his claim,
the petitioner argues that (1) it was possible to raise
the defense of self-defense at his criminal trial, even
if it contradicted Graham’s assertion of a purported
‘‘nullification’’ defense, (2) Graham’s attempt to appeal
to the jurors’ sympathy by convincing them to disregard
the petitioner’s statement to the police was not a valid
legal defense, and (3) Graham’s suggestion during clos-
ing argument that the petitioner may have been acting
in self-defense during the shooting—without a corres-
ponding instruction on self-defense—likely confused
the jury. We conclude that the court correctly deter-
mined that the petitioner did not satisfy Strickland’s
performance prong and, therefore, properly rendered
judgment in the respondent’s favor on count one.6
   The following additional facts, as set forth by our
Supreme Court in its decision on the petitioner’s direct
appeal, or as undisputed in the record, and procedural
history are relevant to the petitioner’s first claim. On
the night of his arrest, the petitioner provided police
with a statement in which he admitted to shooting the
victim (statement). State v. Delgado, supra, 247 Conn.
622–23. The statement, which was admitted in full dur-
ing the petitioner’s criminal trial, as well as during the
habeas trial in the present action, included the follow-
ing: ‘‘I thought this black boy (20 Lover) was talkin shit
as he reached like into the front of his waist like he
was about to pull out a piece (gun) on me as I pulled
out my 9 (millimeter handgun) and just started buckin
at the black boy like 12 or 13 times. I heard another
gun buckin at the same time like over by the store (CBL
STORE 63 Norwich St.) and I heard like 5 or 6 shots.
I remember when we was buckin (shooting) at the black
boy he was like running [across] the street (Stonington
St.) towards the park (Colt’s Park) and I think one of my
shots hit him cause like when I was buckin (shooting)
he fell over the fence but Miguel ‘Cheese Cake’ could
have hit him too cause we was both buckin at the same
time, but I think I got him!’’
   During the habeas trial in the present action, Graham
testified that the defense strategy was (1) to discredit
the petitioner’s statement, and (2) to appeal to the
jurors, in a manner she characterized as ‘‘jury nullifica-
tion,’’ by highlighting mitigating factors with which the
jurors could sympathize. The defense ‘‘relied primarily
on the testimony of friends and family members who
were with [the petitioner] on the night of his arrest to
support his contention that he was drunk and high that
evening. He claimed that as a result of his intoxication,
his statement to the police concerning the shooting was
unreliable.’’ State v. Delgado, supra, 247 Conn. 629.
   In addition, Graham testified during the habeas trial
that she wanted the jury to consider secondarily the
concept of self-defense. During his closing argument,
the prosecutor remarked that ‘‘[on] the night of the
murder . . . the [petitioner] happens upon [the victim]
. . . . Words are exchanged. . . . At that point, the
[petitioner] thinks . . . the victim is going to pull out
a gun. [The petitioner] [p]ulls out his gun. And in his
words, he . . . [s]tarted buckin’ at the black boy, like
twelve or thirteen times.’’ At the outset of her closing
argument, Graham stated: ‘‘I’d like to . . . address
some of the points that [the prosecutor] brought up in
his argument. . . . What the [petitioner’s] statement
goes on to indicate is some type of self-defense argu-
ment. . . . What the evidence shows, if you choose to
believe th[e] [petitioner’s] statement, is that there were
words had . . . between [the petitioner] and [the vic-
tim]. And that would have been—[the petitioner]
believed that someone was pulling a gun out, that [the
victim] was pulling a gun out, and he fired in self-
defense. That’s if you believe the statement. But, I sub-
mit to you that this statement should not be believed.
And I will go on as to why.’’ Graham primarily chal-
lenged the circumstances of the case and attacked the
credibility of the statement throughout the remainder
of her argument. Following the conclusion of closing
arguments and outside the presence of the jury, the
court commented that Graham had referred to self-
defense during her argument and asked if she wanted
the court to give a jury instruction on self-defense,
which she declined. Graham testified that she declined
a self-defense jury instruction because she did not
believe it would be helpful to the defense case.
   In its decision, the habeas court stated that ‘‘[a]t the
habeas trial . . . Graham said that the defense theory
was jury nullification. The state’s case hinged on the
petitioner’s statement to the police. . . . Graham
unsuccessfully sought to suppress the statement, in
which the petitioner admitted to shooting the victim,
and concluded that it was likely that the petitioner
was going to be convicted based on his statement. . . .
Graham strove to affect the jury by highlighting the
petitioner’s age—sixteen at the time of the offense and
eighteen at the time of the criminal trial—and other
factors to appeal to the jurors. Those other factors
included the police interviewing the petitioner without
a parent present or consenting to the interview, as well
as his drug and alcohol use at a tender age. . . . Gra-
ham’s efforts to humanize the petitioner were intended
to convince the jurors that they should disregard or
throw out his confession because of all the circum-
stances surrounding the petitioner and the way his
statement was taken. . . . Graham also attempted to
attack the credibility of the police officers who took
the statement and the reliability of the confession. . . .
  ‘‘Graham investigated a self-defense claim but did
not locate any witness or discover any evidence to
corroborate the petitioner’s indication that the victim
moved in a way that could be interpreted as reaching
for a weapon. To the contrary: the victim being shot in
the back of his leg and arm supported the contention
that he was fired upon as he was fleeing. . . .
  ‘‘Graham tried to convince the [jurors] that if they
believed the petitioner’s confession, then they should
also believe him when he said that the victim was reach-
ing to his front as if he were getting ready to pull out
a gun. . . . Graham viewed this argument as support-
ing self-defense. Conversely, if the jury did not believe
the petitioner’s statement to the police, then the jury
should not convict him. . . . [Graham’s] main objec-
tive was to have the jury . . . not consider the petition-
er’s statement. The secondary objective, if the jury
instead believed the statement, was to convince the
jurors that they should also believe that the petitioner
thought the victim was moving his arm toward his waist
to get a gun. . . .
   ‘‘Graham did not think that the petitioner would pres-
ent well to the jury—he was angry, would say anything,
and it was uncertain what he would testify to. Addition-
ally . . . Graham did not want the petitioner to testify
in support of self-defense because his statement to the
police did not indicate that he saw an actual weapon.
. . . Graham did not request an instruction on self-
defense because she did not think that the jury would
find that the petitioner had a reasonable belief that the
victim was pulling a gun on him. If the [jurors] were
instructed on self-defense, then they would be required
to take a closer look at the specific evidence to deter-
mine if his belief that the victim had a gun was reason-
able. . . . Graham viewed that as too risky for the
defense and likely to fail.
   ‘‘On cross-examination . . . Graham acknowledged
that she was aware of all the issues that would arise if
the jury were instructed on self-defense. For example,
there is a duty to retreat, the use of force by the other
person cannot be provoked, one cannot be the initial
aggressor, one must reasonably believe that the
attacker is about to use force, and one must reasonably
believe that the use of deadly force is necessary to repel
the attack. The facts of the petitioner’s case—the victim
was running away from two shooters; the victim was
shot twice from behind; the petitioner never saw the
victim with a gun; no gun was found on the victim or
in his vehicle—made it highly unlikely that self-defense
would prevail.’’ Accordingly, the court concluded that
Graham had a reasonable basis for choosing to decline
a self-defense instruction and that this decision was a
matter of sound trial strategy. We agree with the habeas
court’s assessment of Graham’s defense strategy.
   The following additional legal principles are relevant
to the petitioner’s first claim on appeal. ‘‘[A] defendant
has no burden of persuasion for a claim of self-defense;
he has only a burden of production. That is, he merely
is required to introduce sufficient evidence . . . [if
credited by the jury] to raise a reasonable doubt in the
mind of a rational juror as to whether the defendant
acted in self-defense. . . .
  ‘‘[T]o submit a [self-defense] defense to the jury, a
defendant must introduce evidence that the defendant
reasonably believed [the attacker’s] unlawful violence
to be imminent or immediate. . . . Under [General
Statutes] § 53a-19 (a), a person can, under appropriate
circumstances, justifiably exercise repeated deadly
force if he reasonably believes both that [the] attacker
is using or about to use deadly force against [himself]
and that deadly force is necessary to repel such attack.
. . . The Connecticut test for the degree of force in
self-defense . . . is a subjective-objective one. The jury
must view the situation from the perspective of the
defendant. Section 53a-19 (a) requires, however, that
the defendant’s belief ultimately must be found to be
reasonable. . . .
  ‘‘As to whether the defendant had a reasonable belief
that the attacker was using or was about to use deadly
force, it is not enough for a defendant to fear the victim
. . . . Rather, a defendant must introduce evidence
that the defendant reasonably believed his adversary’s
unlawful violence to be imminent . . . . Evidence of
imminent violence must be such that the jury must not
have to resort to speculation in order to find that the
defendant acted in justifiable self-defense. . . .
   ‘‘As to whether the defendant had a reasonable belief
that deadly force was necessary to repel the attacker’s
use of deadly force, there are two essential parts [to
this] necessity requirement, which are that force should
be permitted only (1) when necessary and (2) to the
extent necessary.’’ (Citations omitted; internal quota-
tion marks omitted.) State v. Hargett, 343 Conn. 604,
619–21, 275 A.3d 601 (2022).
    As Graham recognized, the petitioner’s statement, as
well as the lack of evidence supporting a self-defense
theory, presented significant challenges to the defense.
Graham testified that the outcome of the petitioner’s
case ‘‘hinged upon [his] confession.’’ Similarly, the
respondent, in his appellate brief, acknowledged that
‘‘[t]he key piece of evidence against the petitioner was
[the statement].’’ Graham employed a strategy in which
she attempted to persuade the jury to disregard the
evidence that was key to the state’s case by attacking
the credibility of the police officers involved in the
petitioner’s arrest and the reliability of the statement
itself. At the same time, the statement ‘‘also contained
[the petitioner’s] indication that he thought that the
victim was reaching toward the front of his waist as if
the victim were about to pull out a gun on the peti-
tioner.’’ Although the petitioner’s expert witness at the
habeas trial, Gulash, testified that he saw ‘‘no basis for
defense counsel to turn down the [criminal trial] court’s
invitation to give a self-defense instruction,’’ Graham
testified that she had investigated a possible defense
of self-defense but was unable to find a witness or other
evidence corroborating the petitioner’s belief that the
victim was reaching for a weapon. Because the physical
evidence showed that the victim was shot from behind
and was not carrying a weapon, it supported the con-
tention that he was fired on as he was fleeing and
defenseless. In addition, Graham’s testimony iterated
that the petitioner ‘‘never saw a gun or . . . never said
he saw a gun.’’ For these reasons, Graham believed
that a defense of self-defense was both unwinnable and
detrimental to her preferred strategy, noting that a self-
defense instruction would require the jury to scrutinize
unfavorable physical evidence in order to determine
whether the elements of self-defense were met.
   The petitioner nevertheless argues that the unfavor-
able evidence is not dispositive of the issue, the state
would not have overcome its burden of disproving self-
defense beyond a reasonable doubt, and a self-defense
instruction would have inspired the jury to reconsider
the statement in a more favorable context in light of
the elements of self-defense. As the habeas court stated,
however, the effect of the statement on the defense
strategy was to position Graham ‘‘literally between
Scylla and Charybdis: her closing argument raised self-
defense, but she did not want a self-defense instruction;
the petitioner’s statement should be disregarded com-
pletely by the jury, but it also was necessary to establish
self-defense.’’ Although we remain mindful of the fact
that the jury was entitled to credit or discredit portions
of the petitioner’s statement in consideration of a self-
defense claim; see, e.g., Morales v. Commissioner of
Correction, 220 Conn. App. 285, 311, 298 A.3d 636 (fact
finders are ‘‘free to juxtapose conflicting versions of
events and determine which is more credible’’ (internal
quotation marks omitted)), cert. denied, 348 Conn. 915,
303 A.3d 603 (2023); the petitioner is required to show
that Graham’s decision to decline the instruction ‘‘fell
below an objective standard of reasonableness as mea-
sured by prevailing professional norms’’ when ‘‘consid-
ering all of the circumstances . . . .’’ (Internal quota-
tion marks omitted.) Id., 305. ‘‘[A] petitioner will not
be able to demonstrate that trial counsel’s decisions
were objectively unreasonable unless there was no . . .
tactical justification for the course taken. . . . Further,
counsel has wide latitude in deciding how best to repre-
sent a client, and deference to counsel’s tactical deci-
sions in his closing presentation is particularly
important because of the broad range of legitimate
defense strategy at that stage.’’ (Citation omitted; inter-
nal quotation marks omitted.) Id., 313.
   The physical evidence presented at the criminal trial
indicating that the victim was fleeing and weaponless
supports Graham’s concerns that a self-defense instruc-
tion might have led the jury to afford more credit to
the statement, wherein the petitioner described, for
example, ‘‘[shooting] . . . at the black boy [while] he
was like running [across] the street,’’ or to lose sympa-
thy for the petitioner. At the habeas trial, Graham testi-
fied that she presented the jury with self-defense as a
secondary consideration, which addressed remarks the
prosecutor made during his closing argument, while
preserving the strategy she had employed throughout
trial. Given that self-defense was inconsistent with the
evidence presented in the case, her closing argument
was a mechanism in which she made a tactical decision
to afford the jury two potential pathways to find the
petitioner not guilty of murder without foreclosing the
reasonable and well supported defense strategy of
attacking the credibility of the statement. We therefore
cannot conclude that there was no tactical justification
for Graham’s decision to decline a self-defense jury
instruction.
  In sum, in light of our review of the record, we agree
with the habeas court’s conclusions under Strickland
that Graham did not render deficient performance by
declining a self-defense jury instruction and, therefore,
that the petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel
claim against Patel in count one of the operative petition
necessarily fails. Accordingly, we conclude that the
court properly rendered judgment in favor of the
respondent on count one of the operative petition.
                             II
   We next address the petitioner’s claims that the
habeas court improperly rendered judgment in the
respondent’s favor on counts three and four of the oper-
ative petition, in which the petitioner asserted ineffec-
tive assistance of counsel claims as to Patel predicated
in relevant part on the allegations that (1) Graham had
provided ineffective assistance by failing to object to
the trial court’s incorrect jury instruction on intent and
(2) Dalton had provided ineffective assistance on direct
appeal by failing to claim error as to that instruction.
We do not agree.
                             A
  The record reveals the following additional proce-
dural history relevant to our disposition of this claim.
At the petitioner’s criminal trial, the court instructed
the jury on both murder and, at the state’s request,
the lesser included offense of manslaughter in the first
degree with a firearm. The court also instructed the
jury that, if it did not find the petitioner guilty of either
of those offenses, it could consider whether to find
him guilty of, respectively, having been an accessory
to murder or an accessory to manslaughter in the first
degree with a firearm. With respect to the murder
charge, the trial court’s instructions to the jury in rele-
vant part included the following:
  ‘‘[The Court]: Now, the murder statute, as pertinent
here, reads as follows: Person is guilty of murder when,
with the intent to cause the death of another person,
he causes the death of such person.
   ‘‘There are three elements necessary for the state to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt in order to warrant
a conviction. First, was the death of [the victim] caused
by another? Second, was it caused by the [petitioner]?
And, third, did the [petitioner] intend to cause the
death? . . .
   ‘‘As to the third element, a person acts intentionally,
with respect to a result or to conduct, when his objec-
tive is to cause such result or to engage in such conduct.
As you can see, we can’t look into a mind of a person
to determine their intent. And if the intent is to be
determined at all, it must be determined from the cir-
cumstances surrounding that person’s conduct or
action.
   ‘‘As to the nature of the evidence to present or con-
sider here, as to the third element, is the number of
shots that were fired. From the [petitioner’s] statement,
he indicated he fired twelve or thirteen shots. And of
course, this is consistent with the thirteen shell casings
that were picked up in the spot near the—[the victim’s]
back door.
  ‘‘You may consider as well the length of time that
the shooting took place on. And of course, the only
way to estimate that is from the distance from the
decedent’s car; across the road, and across the grassy
area to the fence, over the fence. And as I recall, the
[petitioner’s] statement was that, at that point, he
thought he had hit the decedent. But, because Cheese-
cake was still firing . . . Cheesecake may’ve hit the
decedent.
  ‘‘If you find that the state has proved each of these
elements to you beyond a reasonable doubt, then you
must find the [petitioner] guilty as charged of murder.
On the other hand, if you find that the state has failed
to prove any one of these elements to you beyond a
reasonable doubt, you must find him not guilty as to
the charge of murder.
   ‘‘However, if the element that you do not find to be
proved beyond a reasonable doubt is the second, which
is, was the death caused by the [petitioner], you may
consider whether or not he was an accessory to murder.
And the statute, as applied to this case and pertinent
to this case, reads as follows: A person acting with a
mental state required for the commission of an offense,
who intentionally aids another person to engage in con-
duct which constitutes an offense, shall be criminally
liable for such conduct. And I’ve already defined for
you intent from the statute. And it is the same that
applies to the intent of this statute. And again, intent
can only be determined, if determined at all, from the
circumstances surrounding the actor or doer’s conduct.
  ‘‘Now, it is not enough that the [petitioner] committed
acts which may in fact have aided the committing of
the criminal act. One who is present when a crime is
committed, but neither assists in its commission nor
shares in its criminal intent, cannot be convicted as an
accessory. Mere presence is not enough, nor passive
acquiescence is not enough.
  ‘‘To be an accessory, the [petitioner] must have crimi-
nal intent in community of unlawful purpose with the
one who did the criminal act or caused the death.
   ‘‘The question before you then is this: Did the [peti-
tioner] intend to aid the person who caused [the vic-
tim’s] death? And in so doing, did he intend to have the
crime of murder committed? If you find that the state
has proved that the [petitioner] intended to aid the
person who caused the death, and in so doing, did
intend to have the crime of murder committed, then you
must find the [petitioner] guilty of being an accessory
to murder. On the other hand, if the state has failed to
so prove, you must find the [petitioner] not guilty of
accessory to murder.’’
  The petitioner asserts that the habeas court incor-
rectly concluded that he failed to satisfy the prejudice
prong7 under Strickland with respect to his ineffective
assistance of counsel claim set forth in count three. We
conclude that the court correctly determined that the
petitioner did not satisfy Strickland’s prejudice prong
and, therefore, properly rendered judgment in the
respondent’s favor on count three.
    In count three of the operative petition, the petitioner
alleged in relevant part that Graham rendered ineffec-
tive assistance by failing to object to the trial court’s
instruction on the intent element of murder. In his post-
trial brief to the habeas court, the petitioner maintained
that the court at his criminal trial had improperly read
the entire definition of intent set forth in General Stat-
utes § 53a-3 (11) when instructing the jury on murder,
a specific intent crime, and never properly defined
‘‘intent’’ throughout the remainder of the instructions.
The petitioner further maintained that, ‘‘[i]n spite of
noticing the [erroneous intent instructions] and under-
standing that this error would make it easier for the
jury to convict the petitioner of murder, [Graham] still
did not raise an objection to the instruction.’’
   In its decision, the habeas court stated in relevant
part that, ‘‘[a]lthough it may be relatively easy to con-
clude that . . . Graham was deficient for not objecting
to the intent instruction . . . whether the petitioner
was prejudiced arrives at a different conclusion. . . .
The [trial] court . . . referred back to its initial defini-
tion of intent when it instructed the jury on the elements
of accessory to murder. . . . However, the court also
distinguished the intent element for manslaughter from
that necessary for murder: ‘. . . you did not find that
the state had proved the third element of murder, that
is, that [the victim’s] death was intended’; ‘this differs
from murder in that, in murder, the intent was to cause
the person’s death.’ . . . The court again highlighted
this distinction when instructing the jury on accessory
to manslaughter . . . ‘those instructions [for acces-
sory to murder] are the same here, except for the state
of the [petitioner’s] mind, that he intended to cause
serious physical injury, rather than intending to cause
death.’ . . . Th[is] court finds that it is not reasonably
possible that the court’s instruction on specific and
general intent misled the jury. Viewing the jury charge
in its entirety, it was clear that murder required the
specific intent to cause [the victim’s] death and not
the general intent to engage in conduct described by a
statute defining an offense.’’ (Citations omitted; empha-
sis in original.) The court further stated that, ‘‘[h]aving
failed to demonstrate that the petitioner was prejudiced
by . . . Graham’s failure to object to the instruction,
the court concludes that . . . Graham did not render
ineffective assistance of counsel. Both second and first
habeas counsel, therefore, were not ineffective . . . .’’
  The petitioner argues that the trial court’s subsequent
references to the correct intent standard when issuing
the instruction on manslaughter ‘‘did not serve to clarify
the instruction on murder.’’ The petitioner also argues
that the habeas court made its determination despite
incorrectly distinguishing two cases ‘‘in part by citing
to the fact that an incorrect instruction was given to
each of those juries multiple times’’ as the court did in
the petitioner’s underlying criminal trial. We are unper-
suaded.
  ‘‘[T]he specific intent to kill is an essential element
of the crime of murder . . . . To act intentionally, the
defendant must have had the conscious objective to
cause the death . . . .
  ‘‘Intent to engage in proscribed conduct that results
in death and physical injury is not sufficient. . . . As
our Supreme Court has previously stated, ‘[i]t is
improper for the trial court to read an entire statute to
a jury when the pleadings or the evidence support a
violation of only a portion of the statute . . . .’
   ‘‘When reviewing a challenged jury instruction . . .
[the standard is] whether it is reasonably possible that
the jury [was] misled. . . . In determining whether it
was . . . reasonably possible that the jury was misled
. . . the charge to the jury is not to be critically dis-
sected for the purpose of discovering possible inaccura-
cies of statement, but it is to be considered rather as
to its probable effect upon the jury in guiding [it] to a
correct verdict in the case. . . . The charge is to be
read as a whole and individual instructions are not to
be judged in artificial isolation from the overall charge.
. . . The test to be applied . . . is whether the charge,
considered as a whole, presents the case to the jury so
that no injustice will result.’’ (Citations omitted; foot-
note omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State
v. DeBarros, 58 Conn. App. 673, 680–82, 755 A.2d 303,
cert. denied, 254 Conn. 931, 761 A.2d 756 (2000).
  In concluding that the petitioner failed to satisfy
Strickland’s prejudice prong, the habeas court in part
distinguished the facts of the petitioner’s case from
those in State v. DeBarros, supra, 58 Conn. App. 673,
and State v. Sivak, 84 Conn. App. 105, 852 A.2d 812,
cert. denied, 271 Conn. 916, 859 A.2d 573 (2004). In
DeBarros, this court determined that it was ‘‘reasonably
possible that the jury was misled [by improper instruc-
tions] because the probable effect of the improper
charge was that it guided the jury to an incorrect ver-
dict.’’ State v. DeBarros, supra, 682–83. In distinguishing
the improper instructions in DeBarros from those in
State v. Prioleau, 235 Conn. 274, 322, 664 A.2d 743
(1995), and State v. Austin, 244 Conn. 226, 235, 710 A.2d
732 (1998), in which our Supreme Court determined
that any instructional errors were harmless, this court
considered, in particular, the numerosity of the instruc-
tions and the order in which they were given. This court
explained that ‘‘[t]he trial court [improperly] instructed
on intent to ‘engage in conduct’ language once in Prio-
leau and twice in Austin. In each case, the trial court’s
proper instructions eliminated the risk of jury confusion
over the element of intent. [In DeBarros], the trial
court’s improper instructions were too numerous to be
rectified by the court’s proper instructions. In total,
the court either read or referred back to the improper
instruction ten times.’’ State v. DeBarros, supra, 683.
This court further explained that, ‘‘in both Prioleau and
Austin, the trial court read the improper instruction
only as part of a general definition of intent,’’ whereas
in DeBarros, ’’the court read the instruction as a specific
definition of the intent required for the crimes charged,’’
and that ‘‘[t]he order in which the instruction [in
DeBarros] was read likely misled the jury to believe
that to intend to cause the death of another person
means either to intend to cause the death of that person
or to intend to engage in conduct that causes the death
of that person.’’ Id., 683–84.
   Similarly, this court concluded in Sivak that the
defendant was entitled to a new trial as a result of the
trial court’s having improperly included general intent
language in its instructions on a specific intent crime.
See State v. Sivak, supra, 84 Conn. App. 113. In render-
ing its decision, this court noted that ‘‘appellate review
should consist of more than a numerical count of how
many times the instruction was correct rather than
incorrect’’; id., 112; and determined that the instruc-
tion’s misleading effect in that case was compounded
in the numerous additional errors that the trial court
made subsequent to the challenged charge, finding that,
‘‘[a]lthough the [trial] court in some portions of its
charge correctly limited a finding of guilty . . . to
require a finding of intent to cause serious physical
injury, in other portions it added to the mistake. For
example, immediately after improperly charging the
jury as to the inapplicable alternative definition of
intent, the court distinguished intentional conduct from
unintentional conduct, rather than distinguishing
between intended serious physical injury and uninten-
tional serious physical injury. Also, the court’s instruc-
tion as to how to determine intent was couched in
terms of conduct.’’ (Emphasis in original.) Id., 109–10.
In another example, defense counsel in Sivak had
objected to the reading of the incorrect intent standard
during the trial. The trial court ‘‘decided that defense
counsel’s objection was not apt and stated that ‘in think-
ing over the evidence, I think [the defendant’s] con-
duct—the full definition of intent is applicable in view
of the evidence in this case.’ . . . Thus, the defendant
directed the court to the specific misstatement, but
. . . the court persisted in not limiting its instruction
. . . making the charge applicable to the definition of
intent as to all three counts.’’ Id., 108–109. As this court
summarized, ‘‘the charge on intent to cause serious
physical injury was key to the issue of the defendant’s
guilt.’’ Id., 113.
   Upon our review of the trial court’s charge as a whole,
and cognizant of the principles set forth in DeBarros
and Sivak, we agree with the habeas court that it is not
reasonably possible that the instruction on the element
of intent misled the jury. The court at the petitioner’s
criminal trial initially read the murder statute, which
included the correct specific intent language. Following
the court’s improper inclusion in its instruction on mur-
der of the entire definition of intent under § 53a-3 (11),
it repeatedly referenced the specific intent language
when instructing the jury on manslaughter in the first
degree with a firearm as a lesser included offense of
murder and accessorial liability as it applied to murder
and manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm.
Most importantly, the court correctly distinguished for
the jury the intent elements of manslaughter and acces-
sory to manslaughter from the specific intent language
of the murder charge and accessory to murder. See,
e.g., Moody v. Commissioner of Correction, 127 Conn.
App. 293, 306, 14 A.3d 408 (no reversible error when
court read numerous proper instructions following
improper instruction and ‘‘expressly pointed out that
specific intent was an element of murder but not of
manslaughter in the first degree’’), cert. denied, 300
Conn. 943, 17 A.3d 478 (2011). By stressing and empha-
sizing the differences between the elements of the
offenses under which the jury could have found the
petitioner guilty, the court eliminated any risk of confu-
sion over the element of intent that could have been
caused by its improper prior instruction. Moreover, on
the basis of the record in its entirety, including the
petitioner’s incriminating statement to the police and
the corroborating physical evidence the state presented
at trial; see State v. Sivak, supra, 84 Conn. App. 112
(‘‘whether a jury instruction led to an unreliable verdict
is gauged not only by the language of the entire charge,
but by the evidence as well’’); we conclude that the
petitioner failed to demonstrate a substantial likelihood
that the outcome of the trial would have been different
had Graham objected to the intent instruction.
  In sum, we conclude that the habeas court correctly
determined that the petitioner failed to satisfy the preju-
dice prong under Strickland as to Graham’s deficient
performance regarding the jury instruction on intent
and, therefore, that the petitioner’s ineffective assis-
tance of counsel claim against Patel in count three of
the operative petition necessarily fails. Accordingly, we
further conclude that the court properly rendered judg-
ment in the respondent’s favor on count three.
                            B
  The petitioner also contends that the habeas court
incorrectly concluded that he had failed to satisfy either
the performance prong or the prejudice prong under
Strickland with respect to count four of the operative
petition. We conclude that the court correctly deter-
mined that the petitioner did not satisfy Strickland’s
prejudice prong and, accordingly, properly rendered
judgment in the respondent’s favor on count four.
   We first set forth the standard of review and relevant
legal principles governing ineffective assistance claims
against appellate counsel. ‘‘The two-pronged test of
Strickland v. Washington, [supra, 466 U.S. 687], applies
to claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel.
. . . Strickland requires that a petitioner satisfy both
a performance and a prejudice prong. . . .
   ‘‘[A] court must indulge a strong presumption that
counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reason-
able professional assistance; that is, the [petitioner]
must overcome the presumption that, under the circum-
stances, the challenged action might be considered
sound trial strategy. . . . [C]ounsel is strongly pre-
sumed to have rendered adequate assistance and made
all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable
professional judgment. . . . In a habeas proceeding,
the petitioner’s burden of proving that a fundamental
unfairness had been done is not met by speculation
. . . but by demonstrable realities. . . .
  ‘‘To establish that the petitioner was prejudiced by
appellate counsel’s ineffective assistance, the petitioner
must show that, but for the ineffective assistance, there
is a reasonable probability that, if the issue were
brought before us on direct appeal, the petitioner would
have prevailed.’’ (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
Ayuso v. Commissioner of Correction, 215 Conn. App.
322, 368–69, 282 A.3d 983, cert. denied, 345 Conn. 967,
285 A.3d 736 (2022).
   ‘‘In regard to the second prong, our Supreme Court
distinguished the standards of review for claims of inef-
fective trial counsel and ineffective appellate counsel.
. . . For claims of ineffective appellate counsel, the
second prong considers whether there is a reasonable
probability that, but for appellate counsel’s failure to
raise the issue on appeal, the petitioner would have
prevailed in his direct appeal, i.e., reversal of his convic-
tion or granting of a new trial. . . . This requires the
reviewing court to [analyze] the merits of the underlying
claimed error in accordance with the appropriate appel-
late standard for measuring harm.
   ‘‘In a habeas appeal, this court cannot disturb the
underlying facts found by the habeas court unless they
are clearly erroneous, but our review of whether the
facts as found by the habeas court constituted a viola-
tion of the petitioner’s constitutional right to effective
assistance of counsel is plenary.’’ (Citations omitted;
internal quotation marks omitted.) Moore v. Commis-
sioner of Correction, 119 Conn. App. 530, 535, 988 A.2d
881, cert. denied, 296 Conn. 902, 991 A.2d 1103 (2010).
   In count four of the operative petition, the petitioner
alleged that Patel had rendered ineffective assistance
on the basis of the derivative allegation that Dalton had
rendered ineffective assistance on direct appeal when
she failed to raise the issue of the incorrect intent
instruction. In its decision, the habeas court found that
‘‘Dalton’s review of the record led to her conclusion that
the trial court correctly instructed the jury on specific
intent [for the murder charge], and that the correct
intent instruction was repeated. . . . Dalton con-
cluded that it was not a claim worth pursuing, although
she did raise a claim challenging the dual intent instruc-
tion for accessorial liability.’’ In addition, and as the
habeas court recognized, our Supreme Court in the
petitioner’s direct appeal concluded that, ‘‘[u]pon exam-
ining the entire jury charge . . . the trial court properly
instructed the jury regarding accessorial liability. . . .
[N]othing in the challenged charge reasonably could
have been interpreted as relieving the state of its burden
of proving that the [petitioner] himself intended both
to aid Cheesecake and to kill the victim. Consequently,
an examination of the court’s instructions as a whole
reveals that it is not reasonably possible that the jury
was misled.’’ State v. Delgado, supra, 247 Conn. 627. In
light of the ‘‘strong presumption that . . . Dalton ren-
dered adequate assistance,’’ and seemingly guided by
our Supreme Court in its consideration of the entire
jury charge in resolving a similar claim, the habeas court
determined that ‘‘Dalton’s decision to not raise a claim
challenging the intent instruction for murder was done
within the parameters of sound professional judgment
. . . .’’ The habeas court further determined that, even
if it is assumed Dalton had rendered deficient perfor-
mance, ‘‘the petitioner has failed to demonstrate that
he was prejudiced because he has not shown that he
would have prevailed on direct appeal had . . . Dalton
raised this claim. Both second and first habeas counsel,
therefore, were not ineffective for not raising [this]
claim . . . .’’
  On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court
erred in rejecting the merits of count four under both
prongs of Strickland. As the petitioner argues, ‘‘[t]he
intent instruction was wrong. . . . [T]here is a reason-
able chance that the jury was misled by the incorrect
instruction, establishing harm. Therefore, there was a
meritorious claim about the intent instruction that Dal-
ton failed to claim, and, because it likely misled the
jury, it was reasonably probable that Dalton would also
have been able to establish harm on direct appeal.’’ On
the basis of our review of the merits of the underlying
claimed error set forth in part II A of this opinion,
however, we conclude that it is not reasonably probable
that the petitioner would have prevailed on his direct
appeal such that he has not demonstrated prejudice
under Strickland. We therefore conclude that the court
properly rendered judgment in the respondent’s favor
on count four.
      The judgment is affirmed.
      In this opinion the other judges concurred.
  1
     General Statutes § 53a-54a (a) provides: ‘‘A person is guilty of murder
when, with intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death
of such person or of a third person or causes a suicide by force, duress or
deception; except that in any prosecution under this subsection, it shall be
an affirmative defense that the defendant committed the proscribed act or
acts under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there
was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to
be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant’s situation
under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be, provided
nothing contained in this subsection shall constitute a defense to a prosecu-
tion for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter in the first degree or
any other crime.’’
   2
     General Statutes § 53-202k provides: ‘‘Any person who commits any class
A, B or C felony and in the commission of such felony uses, or is armed
with and threatens the use of, or displays, or represents by his words or
conduct that he possesses any firearm, as defined in section 53a-3, except
an assault weapon, as defined in section 53-202a, shall be imprisoned for a
term of five years, which shall not be suspended or reduced and shall
be in addition and consecutive to any term of imprisonment imposed for
conviction of such felony.’’
   3
     General Statutes § 53a-8 (a) provides: ‘‘A person, acting with the mental
state required for commission of an offense, who solicits, requests, com-
mands, importunes or intentionally aids another person to engage in conduct
which constitutes an offense shall be criminally liable for such conduct and
may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender.’’
   4
     Our Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court with direction
to vacate the conviction as to the firearm charge and ‘‘to resentence [the
petitioner] to a total effective term of imprisonment of sixty-five years
. . . .’’ State v. Delgado, supra, 247 Conn. 634.
   5
     In count two of the operative petition, the petitioner alleged that Patel
had rendered ineffective assistance by not raising the claim that McKay had
rendered ineffective assistance by failing to assert that Graham had rendered
ineffective assistance when she failed to move to suppress the petitioner’s
statement to the police as fruit of the poisonous tree. The habeas court,
Oliver, J., rendered judgment in favor of the respondent, the Commissioner
of Correction, on count two. The petitioner is not challenging on appeal
this portion of the judgment.
   6
     The petitioner further contends that he was prejudiced by Graham’s
purported deficient performance. Because we conclude that the habeas
court properly determined that Graham’s performance was not deficient,
we need not address Strickland’s prejudice prong.
   7
     The respondent concedes in his appellate brief that the habeas court
properly concluded that Graham had rendered deficient performance by
failing to object to the intent instruction.