Ineffective assistance of appellate counsel; Right to competent counsel; In re Trowbridge; In re Osborne (On Remand, After Remand)

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal, the court vacated the Court of Appeals judgment (see eJournal # 86343 in the 8/26/26 edition) and remanded the case to that court for a new appeal. It held that the record showed a respondent’s appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance. It found that counsel was ineffective for “failing to cite to the record to support the claims being asserted, citing incorrect legal standards in support of those claims, failing to analyze claims, and failing to include all claims in the statement of questions presented. A right to counsel necessarily includes the right to competent counsel.” On remand, the Court of Appeals is to remand the case to the trial court and direct the trial “court to appoint counsel to represent respondent in the Court of Appeals.”