Daniel Lage of Shelton-based Ruane Attorneys. Courtesy photo

Shelton attorney Daniel Lage, who became a practicing lawyer four years ago, hit pay dirt twice: securing two habeas corpus victories within a three-week span.

Lage's backstory is one of someone who ran away from home as a teenage and was a high school dropout. Those habeas victories, which include a judge ordering a new trial and vacating a 14-year prison sentence in a home burglary and, in the second case, shaving off five years of prison time for plaintiff Marcus Moye, a man convicted of murder, can be attributed to Lage's upbringing and his wanting to work with people similar to those he grew up with in Bridgeport. It's what drives him as an attorney, Lage said.

"Marcus Moye reminds me of people I grew up with," said Lage, a partner with Ruane Attorneys. "He was someone who was trapped in the system very young and who did not have a lot of opportunities as a young man and was, obviously, someone like me from the inner city."

In the Moye case, Lage was able to get a 50-year sentence reduced down to 45 years after Superior Court Judge Tejas Bhatt on Oct. 23 ruled that Moye was charged twice with possessing a pistol without a permit, violating the double-jeopardy standard.

Lage found the discrepancy in the Moye case after his boss Jay Ruane gave him the matter to review and appeal.

Moye had been charged with possessing a pistol without a permit, and sentenced to five years in prison. But in reviewing the case, Lage found Moye had been charged with possessing a pistol without a permit twice in the same day for two offenses: one murder and one robbery. Moye made a deal with prosecutors in the robbery case and the gun offense was dropped. Under double-jeopardy guidelines, he should not have been charged with the gun offense for the murder charge, but was.

"The charge can't be divided and you can't be charged more than once. The pistol was used in both cases," Lage told the Connecticut Law Tribune.

While five years off a 50-year sentence might not seem like a lot of time, Lage said, "so much can change in your life in five years. Every single second counts." Moye will be released when he is 68 years old, as opposed to when he is 73 years old.

Three weeks before the Moye case, Lage clinched his first habeas victory. In that case, Superior Court Judge John Newson ordered a new trial and vacated the 14-year prison sentence of Lacelles Clue, who was convicted of a violent home burglary. The judge found that a Bridgeport defense attorney provided ineffective counsel to Clue, saying counsel should have called two alibi witnesses to the stand during Clue's 2011 trial but didn't.

Ruane said Lage's "story is unique among lawyers. Dan's confidence is well placed and he has the critical thinking and legal skills of someone with decades in practice, even though he has been doing this for just four years. He has a unique ability to connect with people, from white-collar clients to blue and even no-collar clientele."

A 2015 graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, Lage said he thought about several occupations, but felt law was the best suited for his goals.

"I thought about being an attorney, doctor, scientist, or politician, but chose attorney because it allows me to work directly with people during a point in their lives where I can offer assistance or be a good listener," Lage said.

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