Smith v. State

The state appeals a judgment granting petitioner post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court determined that petitioner received inadequate assistance of counsel in the trial that led to his conviction on three counts of sexual abuse in the third degree. The state contends that the post-conviction trial record lacks the required showing that petitioner’s counsel’s allegedly inadequate performance had a tendency to affect the outcome of petitioner’s criminal trial. We agree and, consequently, reverse.

A jury found petitioner guilty of three of four charged incidents of sexual abuse in the…