February 2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Bremer County, Chris Foy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Mullins, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (6 pages)

            The defendant agreed to pay restitution at the rate of fifty dollars a month after pleading guilty to theft in the first degree.  But two years later, facing serious health issues, he petitioned the district court to find he did not have the ability to pay the remaining balance.  The court found it had no authority to grant such relief.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court decision is correct.  Despite the change in the defendant’s circumstances, the court is without authority to grant him the relief he seeks—eliminating his entire obligation to pay restitution including victim restitution, court costs, and attorney fees.  The defendant did not unbundle the courts costs and attorney fees from the victim restitution, and it was not an abuse of discretion for the court to deny the general request to eliminate restitution altogether. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, John D. Ackerman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Jeremy Saul appeals the summary disposition of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the summary disposition of Saul’s application for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Mary Pat Gunderson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mullins, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (5 pages)

            Matthew Leonard appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief.  He asserts he did not understand the consequences of his guilty plea.  OPINION HOLDS: We give weight to the postconviction court’s finding that Leonard lacked credibility, and his recorded colloquies with the district court prior to entering his plea show the court informed him of—and he acknowledged understanding—the consequences of pleading guilty.  Therefore, he has not shown ineffective assistance of counsel.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, William Patrick Kelly, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, P.J., McDonald, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (9 pages)

            Gene Cook Jr. appeals from the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief.  He argues his sentence is cruel and unusual due to gross disproportionality and his age, and he asserts his other claims are not time-barred under recent precedent.  OPINION HOLDS: We find his sentence is constitutional and his other claims are time-barred even considering recent precedent.  Therefore, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Mark F. Schlenker, District Associate Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Doyle, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (7 pages)

            Ciera Bolden appeals her conviction for one count of second-degree harassment.  OPINION HOLDS: The evidence is insufficient to support a finding that Bolden intended to communicate to the alleged target of her harassment in her email to a third party.  Accordingly, we reverse and remand for entry of a judgment of acquittal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mahaska County, Randy S. DeGeest, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Doyle, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (9 pages)

            Bruce Spahr appeals the order denying his application for postconviction relief (PCR), challenging his conviction for second-degree sexual abuse.  He asserts claims of ineffective assistance of his trial, appellate, and PCR counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Spahr’s trial counsel breached a duty in failing to object to testimony that impermissibly bolstered the credibility of the complaining witness.  Because witness credibility played an integral part in the jury’s decision-making, the impermissible testimony undermines confidence in the jury’s verdict.  Spahr has demonstrated ineffective assistance of trial counsel.  Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s judgment, remand for entry of an order vacating Spahr’s conviction and sentence, and grant him a new trial.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wright County, Christopher C. Foy, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, C.J.  (9 pages)

            In 2002, Quality Egg, LLC (Quality Egg), entered into an oral contract with Hickman’s Egg Ranch, Inc. (Hickman’s) to sell eggs.  In April 2008, Quality Egg received a check from Hickman’s that it determined was “short pay.”  In March 2014, Quality Egg brought suit against Hickman’s, asserting Hickman’s was due and owing upon an open account.  Hickman’s responded by asserting various defenses.  After a 2017 trial, the jury returned a verdict against Quality Egg’s claim, and Quality Egg appeals.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the jury instructions were insufficient.  Because Quality Egg pled and presented its case-in-chief seeking a judgment on an open account, the lack of instructions to the jury on this claim is reversible error.  Therefore, we reverse and remand for a new trial limited to Quality Egg’s open-account claim.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, William A. Price, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  Dissent by Tabor, P.J.  (18 pages)

            Hector Martinez Lobo appeals his conviction for driving while intoxicated, claiming the district court should not have denied his motion to suppress evidence obtained during the investigatory stop of his vehicle.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the traffic stop was proper on the basis the officer had reasonable suspicion criminal activity was afoot.  We determine the district court properly denied defendant’s motion to suppress.  We affirm Martinez Lobo’s conviction for operating while intoxicated.  DISSENT ASSERTS: I respectfully dissent.  The State’s evidence did not support a finding of either probable cause or reasonable suspicion to pull over the Camaro.  The district court should have granted Martinez Lobo’s motion to suppress the evidence gathered after an impermissible traffic stop.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Thomas J. Bice, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Bower and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (8 pages)

            LeRoy Haines appeals the denial of his second application for postconviction relief (PCR) following his convictions for two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree.  As he did at his PCR trial, he maintains the State committed a Brady violation by failing to disclose exculpatory evidence and statements made by one of the complaining witnesses during the course of the underlying proceedings and that the nondisclosure prejudiced him.  OPINION HOLDS: The evidence Haines’s claim relies upon meets the ground-of-fact exception and survives the statute of limitations, so we reach merits of Haines’s claim.  However, we agree with the PCR court that Haines cannot establish a Brady violation.  We affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Mark J. Smith, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (10 pages)

            Dominic Clester appeals the district court’s dismissal of his application for postconviction relief as a discovery sanction after his appointed postconviction counsel failed to comply with the court’s order to compel discovery responses.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court made no finding of willfulness, bad faith, or fault, and did not consider the propriety of lesser sanctions, we find the court abused its discretion in dismissing Clester’s postconviction-relief application as a discovery sanction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Kim M. Riley, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Doyle, J., and Mahan, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Randall Clemens appeals from his convictions for domestic abuse assault by strangulation, second-degree harassment, and interference with official acts causing bodily injury.  He asserts the trial court erred in admitting the recording of a 911 call.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no error in the court’s ruling that the recording was admissible under the present-sense-impression exception to the hearsay rule. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Jeffrey L. Harris, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, C.J.  (6 pages)

            Tracy Adam Thompson appeals his convictions and sentence for public intoxication, third offense; two counts of assault on persons in certain occupations; and interference with official acts.  Thompson argues the district court abused its discretion by “suggesting” or “pronouncing” the maximum sentence before trial and for considering Thompson’s refusal to plead guilty as a factor in sentencing.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court did not abuse its discretion by advising Thompson of the maximum sentence and did not consider impermissible factors when sentencing.