Opinion
SC 163731 COA 356222
02-11-2022
In re BOURBEAU, Minors.
Oakland CC Family Division: 2015-832568-NA
Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice Brian K. Zahra David F. Viviano Richard H. Bernstein Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh Elizabeth M. Welch, SC: 163731 Justices
ORDER
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 14, 2021 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we VACATE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and we REMAND this case to that court for a new appeal. On remand, while retaining jurisdiction, the Court of Appeals shall remand this case to the Oakland Circuit Court and direct that court to appoint counsel to represent the respondent in the Court of Appeals. The record in this case reveals that the respondent's counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to cite to the record to support the claims being asserted, citing incorrect legal standards in support of those claims, and failing to raise potentially meritorious claims. As noted by the Court of Appeals throughout its opinion, the brief filed by the respondent's counsel made numerous cursory assertions with no argument or citations to the record, and abandoned claims raised in the trial court. A right to counsel necessarily includes the right to competent counsel. See In re Trowbridge, 155 Mich.App. 785, 786 (1986); In re Osborn (On Remand, After Remand), 237 Mich.App. 597, 606 (1999). The respondent did not receive competent appellate counsel and is thus entitled to a new appeal.
We do not retain jurisdiction.