Commonwealth of Kentucky, Appellant/cross-Appellee v. Shawn Tigue, Appellee/cross-Appellant

Summary

The court held that a defendant's request to withdraw a guilty plea before final judgment is a critical stage at which the right to counsel attaches, and that Tigue was denied conflict-free counsel when his attorneys refused to assist him and undermined his request. The court limited the remedy for that violation to vacating the judgment and remanding for further proceedings, without automatically vacating the plea on that ground. Independently, the court held that counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to investigate Tigue's alternative-perpetrator defense, and that this deficient performance prejudiced his decision to plead guilty. The court therefore affirmed the Court of Appeals' result, vacated Tigue's convictions and guilty plea, and remanded for further proceedings.