Nelson v. State

MAASSEN, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

A defendant pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. On the day of sentencing he moved to withdraw his plea, arguing that he had not understood the terms of the agreement and had received ineffective assistance of counsel. The superior court declined to appoint a different lawyer to represent him on the motion to withdraw his plea and denied the motion. The court of appeals affirmed these decisions.1

We accepted Nelson's petition for review on the question whether he was entitled to conflict-free counsel on the motion to withdraw his…