When a man and his attorney parted ways on whether to take back a guilty plea, a judge should have assigned the man a new lawyer rather than deny the motion to withdraw, a Brooklyn appellate court said.

“The defendant’s right to counsel was adversely affected when his attorney took a position adverse to the defendant’s with respect to that branch of the defendant’s motion,” a unanimous panel of the Appellate Division, Second Department ruled on Jan. 22 in People v. Duart, 2010-03955.