State v. Baker

The defendant was convicted in the Superior Court {Contas, J.) of felonious sexual assault, RSA 632-A:3 (Supp. 1985). Thereafter Contas, J., denied his motion for new trial, and Temple, J., denied his petition for writ of habeas corpus based on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. In these combined appeals, we do not reach the issues raised by the denials of post-trial relief, because we reverse the conviction for failure to afford the defendant the hearing to which he was entitled under State v. Howard, 121 N.H. 53, 426 A.2d 457 (1981).

The trial record indicates that the defendant…