In re Gould

¶ 1. Petitioner, Michael Gould, appeals the Chittenden Superior Court’s denial of his post-conviction relief motion. Gould claims that the court violated his statutory right to counsel under 13 V.S.A. §§ 5231, 5233, when it failed to assign new counsel after permitting the previous post-conviction relief counsel to withdraw. In light of the right to counsel afforded by our Public Defender Act, the court erred in refusing to appoint new counsel to assist Gould on his first post-conviction relief petition. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.

¶ 2. Petitioner Michael Gould was arraigned in…