October 2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (18 pages)

            Qasim Baloch appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for new trial after a jury returned a verdict in favor of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. on his claims of employment discrimination.  On appeal, Baloch challenges (I) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury verdict; (II) defense references to prior lawsuits; (III) the district court’s refusal to rescind Pioneer’s peremptory strikes of two jurors; and (IV) the district court’s decision to instruct the jury on his failure to mitigate damages.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm and conclude (I) substantial evidence supports the jury verdict; (II) Baloch was not prejudiced by testimony about money damages because he raised a timely objection and prevailed on his request to bar an answer to the question; (III) the district court acted appropriately in denying Baloch’s challenges to Jurors 3 and 5; and (IV) the district court did not err in denying Baloch’s motion for directed verdict and his motion for new trial with regard to the jury instruction on mitigation of damages.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J. (3 pages)

            James Bailey Jr. appeals the sentence imposed after he pled guilty to first-degree theft.  OPINION HOLDS: The sentencing recommendation in the presentence investigation report is not inherently improper for the court to consider, and Bailey failed to preserve error on any claim it was improper based on the facts of his case.  Because the record is insufficient to allow us to resolve his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims on direct appeal, we preserve them for postconviction-relief proceedings. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Steven P. Van Marel, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  Special Concurrence by Doyle, J.  (6 pages)

            Muligande pled guilty to two charges of public intoxication, second offense.  Each violation was a serious misdemeanor under Iowa Code sections 123.46(2) and 123.91 (2018).  For each violation, the district court imposed a one-year term of confinement.  The court ran the sentences consecutively for a total indeterminate term not to exceed two years.  On appeal, Muligande argues his sentence constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.  OPINION HOLDS: Muligande’s sentence does not violate the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution or article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.  We affirm.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: Muligande’s term of two year’s imprisonment is stunning, but the majority got the law right and I am duty-bound to concur.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (North) County, Mark E. Kruse, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J. (3 pages)

            William Moyers appeals the sentence imposed upon his plea of guilty, asserting the district court erred in considering the recommendation of the department of corrections included in the presentence investigation report.  OPINION HOLDS:  Because the district court did not abuse its discretion when it considered pertinent information contained in the report, and Moyer’s counsel did not provide ineffective assistance, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (5 pages)

            Kenneth Winston appeals the sentences imposed following his guilty pleas.  OPINION HOLDS: The court provided sufficient and adequate reasons to run Winston’s sentences consecutive to his sentence for a parole violation, satisfying the requirement of Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.23(3)(d). 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Cynthia M. Moisan, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J. (8 pages)

            Montreal Shorter appeals his conviction for possessing or carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject Shorter’s claims of allegedly faulty jury instructions and ineffective assistance of counsel.  We affirm his conviction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Christopher L. Bruns, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J. (3 pages)

            William Porter appeals his sentencing order.  He challenges the district court’s use of the risk assessment in determining his sentence.  And he claims the district court abused its discretion by not suspending his forcible-felony fine.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm without further opinion pursuant to Iowa Court Rule 21.26(1)(a), (c), and (e).

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, James M. Drew, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J. (12 pages)

            Patrick Holt appeals from his conviction and sentence for lascivious acts with a child.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Holt’s motion for new trial, imposing the sentence, or instructing the jury.  We also conclude that the expert witness’s trial testimony was not improper vouching and Holt failed to show his counsel ineffective by failing to object to this testimony.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jeffrey L. Harris, District Associate Judge.  SENTENCES VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (8 pages)

            Brooke Trimble appeals her sentences for domestic abuse assault and violation of a no-contact order.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the district court improperly considered allegations of attempted sexual abuse, we conclude it abused its discretion.  Accordingly, we remand for resentencing.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Myron Gookin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J. (6 pages)

            Ambrashia Chrzan appeals her conviction for child endangerment resulting in death.  She asserts trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to prior-bad-acts evidence and in failing to object to a jury instruction that prior statements made by the defendant could be considered as if made at trial.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the conviction, preserve the first ineffective-assistance claim for possible postconviction proceedings, and reject the second ineffective-assistance claim on the merits.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Tom Reidel, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (11 pages)

            Logan Shoemaker challenges his convictions of attempted murder, willful injury causing serious injury, and robbery in the first degree.  He maintains there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions for attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury because the State failed to prove he had the specific intent to cause death or serious injury, respectively.  He challenges his conviction for robbery in the first degree, claiming there was insufficient evidence to support that he intended to commit a theft—a necessary element of robbery—and maintains counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to move for judgment of acquittal on that ground.  Similarly, he also maintains counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to request a separate instruction defining theft for the jury.  OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports Shoemaker’s convictions for attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury, we affirm.  We cannot decide Shoemaker’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on the record before us, so we preserve them for possible postconviction-relief proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Heather Lauber, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J. (5 pages)

            Phillip Williams appeals his sentence following his guilty plea to attempted burglary.  At sentencing, Williams limited his expression of remorse to what his crime “cost [him in] custody, visitation, [and] phone contacts . . .  [f]or the better part of a year.”  The sentencing court considered Williams’s lack of attention to the victim’s situation among the many factors it weighed before choosing to send him to prison.  Williams contends the sentencing court abused its discretion in considering his failure to acknowledge how his actions “affected the victim of this case.”  OPINION HOLDS: A defendant’s attitude about his crime informs what he needs to accomplish in his rehabilitation.  Nothing in this record shows the sentencing court abused its discretion by relying on an improper factor.