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NOTICE: This opinion is subject to motions for rehearing under Rule 22 as well as formal revision before publication in the New Hampshire Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter, Supreme Court of New Hampshire, One Charles Doe Drive, Concord, New Hampshire 03301, of any editorial errors in order that corrections may be made before the opinion goes to press. Errors may be reported by E-mail at the following address: reporter@courts.state.nh.us. Opinions are available on the Internet by 9:00 a.m. on the morning of their release. The direct address of the court's home page is: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme. THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE ___________________________ Laconia District Court No. 2006-085 THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE v. BRIAN SHARKEY Submitted on Briefs: May 23, 2007 Opinion Issued: July 13, 2007 Kelly A. Ayotte, attorney general (Ann M. Rice, associate attorney general, on the memorandum of law), for the State. Law Office of Mark Stevens, of Salem (Mark Stevens on the brief), for the defendant. GALWAY, J. The defendant, Brian Sharkey, appeals an order of the Laconia District Court (Huot, J.) denying his motion to withdraw a guilty plea and vacate his conviction due to ineffective assistance of counsel. We reverse and remand. The following facts are undisputed by the parties. In August 2004, the defendant pled guilty to, and was convicted of, driving under the influence of alcohol in violation of RSA 265:82 (2004). The defendant was represented by counsel during this plea. The trial court sentenced him to a $350 fine, plus a penalty assessment, and a nine-month revocation of his non-resident driving

privileges, six months of which could be suspended upon enrollment in an impaired driver intervention program. In December 2005, the defendant filed a post-conviction motion to withdraw his guilty plea and vacate his conviction based upon the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. In support of his motion, he submitted an affidavit that recited the following: The defendant had a Massachusetts driver's license when he pled guilty and he informed his trial counsel that he had four prior convictions in Massachusetts for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. He asked his counsel what effect a conviction in the pending New Hampshire case would have upon his Massachusetts driver's license. His counsel told him that Massachusetts would suspend his license for the same period of time as New Hampshire and advised him to plead guilty. Once the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles received notice that the defendant was convicted of driving while intoxicated in New Hampshire, however, the Massachusetts authorities revoked his Massachusetts driver's license indefinitely, pursuant to a Massachusetts statute that required the lifetime revocation of a person's license who is convicted of driving under the influence five or more times. See Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 90

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