Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Chad A. Kepros and Christopher L. Bruns, Judges. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (6 pages)

Chad Stechcon appeals the district court’s summary dismissal of his application for postconviction relief as time-barred, seeking to circumvent the time bar by arguing his “court-appointed postconviction relief counsel was ineffective in failing to file his application for postconviction relief in a timely fashion.” OPINION HOLDS: We conclude postconviction counsel breached an essential duty and the failure amounted to structural error. We reverse and remand for adjudication of the merits of Stechon’s untimely filed postconviction-relief application.