State v. DALBEC

OPINION

SHUMAKER, Judge.

On direct appeal from his conviction of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, appellant argues that his attorney’s failure to “appear” for final argument through the submission of a written summation after a bench trial, as agreed by the parties and approved by the district court, was ineffective assistance of counsel that, under the particular facts of this case, constituted structural error requiring reversal. We agree and are compelled to reverse the conviction and remand the matter for a new trial.

FACTS

We are asked to determine whether defense counsel’s…