Gerald Lopes v. State of Rhode Island

OPINION

Justice GOLDBERG,

for the Court.

In this appeal, we review the denial of an application for postconviction relief. Gerald Lopes (Lopes or applicant) entered a plea of nolo contendere in two separate cases to the charges of burglary, breaking and entering, and receiving stolen goods. Lopes then applied for postconviction relief in the Superior Court, alleging myriad grounds for relief, including ineffective assistance of counsel that resulted in an unknowing and involuntary plea. Lopes’s application for postconviction relief was denied. The applicant sought review by this Court, and this…