State v. Moore

McFadden, Judge.

A jury convicted Lawrence Benjamin Moore, Jr., of the rape of J. S. But the trial court granted a new trial, finding that Moore had been denied the effective assistance of counsel. The state had improperly commented on Moore’s pre-arrest silence, but defense counsel had failed to object. The state appeals. The state contends, notwithstanding that Moore later voluntarily turned himself in, that its improper comments referred to flight, not pre-arrest silence and that trial counsel was therefore not ineffective for failing to object. And notwithstanding that the physical…