State v. Powell

STREIT, Justice.

Concerned about a potentially powerful conflict on the part of his court-appointed trial counsel, William Victor Powell repeatedly requested appointment of another attorney on his behalf. The district court and court of appeals ruled Powell’s alleged conflict was too speculative to require substitution. Because the record before us shows the district court knew of a potential conflict into which it did not sufficiently inquire, we remand for a hearing on Powell’s allegations.

I.Facts and Prior Proceedings

After a break-in at a convenience store in Mason City involving two cases…