Commonwealth v. Bolduc

I fully concur with the majority’s conclusion that, at the time he entered his guilty plea, the defendant was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Unlike the majority, however, I also conclude that the ineffective assistance of counsel stemmed from a conflict of interest in his attorney’s representation of him and his two codefendants.

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution mandates that an attorney give his client his undivided loyalty. Glasser v. United States, 315 U. S. 60, 70, 75-76 (1942). This is true whether counsel is court appointed or retained. United States v.…