State v. Coleman

The defendant, Daniel Coleman, was convicted of second degree assault after jury trial in the Superior Court (O’Neil, J.) and was sentenced to from one to seven years of imprisonment. Coleman appeals his conviction, arguing that the trial court improperly found a witness to be qualified as an expert and erroneously admitted certain hearsay evidence. We reverse and remand.

The pertinent facts of this case are as follows. On the morning of June 5, 1988, Coleman and his ex-girlfriend, Susan Lefebvre, were arguing in an alley off of Amory Street in Manchester. She was on foot; he was in his car.…