Anthony Small v. Commissioner of Correction

Summary

The court held that the trial court constitutionally erred by failing to instruct the jury on the statutory definition of attempt when felony murder was predicated on attempted robbery. Nevertheless, the petitioner could not establish prejudice under the ineffective-assistance framework because the omitted intent element was established by the verdict and the uncontested evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated a substantial step toward robbery. The court also replaced its prior prejudice standard for ineffective assistance of appellate counsel with the requirement that the petitioner show a reasonable probability of prevailing on the direct appeal.