New Trial - Expert Witness Testimony

Motion for a new trial granted based on ineffective assistance of counsel.

Attorneys Brad Bailey and Gary G. Pelletier of Denner Pellegrino, LLP, prevailed on a motion for a new trial for a defendant found guilty of aggravated sexual assault. The defendant hired Denner Pellegrino, LLP to represent him after his conviction in New Hampshire Superior Court in Nashua after having used other counsel for the original trial. Under New Hampshire law, a defendant convicted of aggravated sexual assault cannot remain free on bail pending appeal. Facing a sentencing hearing where the State of New Hampshire sought a 30 year sentence, Attorney Bailey convinced the trial judge to impose a five year sentence. After the sentencing hearing, Attorney Bailey then presented a motion for a new trial to the trial judge.

Attorney Bailey argued in the motion that the defendant’s previous attorneys rendered constitutionally ineffective assistance of counsel when they failed to call or even consult with an expert regarding Williams Syndrome. The complaining witness in the case, a teenager, suffered from a condition known as Williams Syndrome. Williams Syndrome is a condition whereby an afflicted person often cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality. Attorney Bailey argued that had an expert in the Syndrome testified at the defendant’s first trial, a jury in all likelihood would not have found him guilty. The trial judge agreed. He granted our Attorneys’ motion for a new trial, vacated the defendant’s convictions, and ordered the defendant released from custody forthwith.