Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2)

State v. Mann, 2005-0849 (N.H. S.Ct., Jul. 30, 2007)

The defendant, Stephen Mann, appeals his conviction for first degree murder. He argues that the trial court erred in: (1) denying without a hearing his request for an in camera review of the counseling and DCYF records of his two children; (2) permitting a State witness to testify while wearing a ski mask; (3) permitting the State to play portions of a 911 call; and (4) denying his motion to appoint new counsel. We affirm.

State v. Cobb, 95-S-535-F, 96-S-026-F - 96-S-182-F (Strafford, Aug. 15, 2002)

The defendant was convicted on May 6, 1996 of one count of attempted felonious sexual assault, fifty-three counts of exhibiting or displaying child pornography, and 267 counts of possessing child pornography. He now moves for a new trial or, in the alternative, petitions for habeas corpus on the grounds of 1) ineffective assistance of his trial counsel; 2) violation of his First Amendment rights; 3) “failure of the Trial Judge and prosecutor to disclose a close personal and professional relationship;” and 4) prosecutorial misconduct and unfair prejudice which may have affected the jury. The New Hampshire Supreme Court previously upheld the defendant’s convictions. See State v. Cobb, 143 N.H. 638 (1999). As a result, the defendant acknowledges that his petition is a collateral attack on his convictions and concedes that he can only raise the issues in his motion in the context of an attack on the effectiveness of counsel.
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