2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Carla Schemmel, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (5 pages)

            Komut Mai appeals from judgment and sentence following the denial of his motion to suppress and trial on the minutes of testimony.  Mai maintains the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle in which he was a passenger.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the officer did not have a reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop the vehicle, we reverse the denial of Mai’s motion to suppress and remand for further proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J, and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (8 pages)

            Melissa Sadler appeals an adverse summary judgment ruling and dismissal of her civil suit.  She argues the court (1) improperly failed to allow her fifteen days to respond to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, (2) lacked jurisdiction to entertain the motion when an appeal was pending, (3) abused its discretion in denying her motion to extend expert-witness deadlines, and (4) erred by dismissing the lawsuit when an appeal was pending concerning the propriety of a motion to dismiss granted in favor of other defendants.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the outcome of the district court proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Andrea J. Dryer, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (4 pages)

            Christopher Thomas contends insufficient evidence supports his conviction for violating the sex offender registry requirements.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence supports the conviction.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Gregory W. Steensland, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, J.  (3 pages)

            Martin Hiatt appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion to quash.  Hiatt claimed the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) was seizing funds from his prison account that came from outside sources without providing Hiatt a predeprivation hearing before doing so.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we are unable to ascertain on the record before us whether Hiatt was given notice or the opportunity to object before IDOC began collecting restitution from his prison funds from outside sources, we reverse the district court’s denial and remand for further proceedings. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Winneshiek County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (11 pages)

            Thomas and Jeanett Hansen appeal a trial court order finding in favor of Dean Thorson in a conversion and breach-of-contract action relating to a hay crop and farm-rental agreement.  The Hansens claim the trial court erred in denying their motion for new trial because Thorson made knowing material misrepresentations during trial that prejudiced the Hansens and the court erred in law and made a mistake of fact as to the date of conversion.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial and did not make an error of law or mistake of fact.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Thomas A. Bitter, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (7 pages)

            Eddie Adams appeals from an order denying him postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Adams has not shown his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to have his DNA expert independently test the evidence when he never claimed additional testing would have changed the outcome of trial and the record does not support his claim of spoliation.  Nor has Adams shown his PCR counsel was ineffective by failing to move for an expanded ruling on the legality of an Allen charge when the record does not show the court gave the jury an Allen instruction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Katherine Myer appeals the district court ruling finding she violated her obligations to her mother Sylvia Chott as her mother’s power of attorney by withdrawing funds from the mother’s bank account and ordering her to return the money and pay attorney fees and court costs.  Katherine argues the district court erred by evaluating her conduct under Iowa Code chapter 633B (2017), by finding she had not met her burden to prove she acted in good faith and Sylvia had acted freely, voluntarily, and intelligently when she transferred the money to Katherine, and by awarding Sylvia attorney fees.  Additionally, she requests appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court correctly evaluated Katherine’s conduct under chapter 633B.  The district court correctly determined Katherine had not met her burden of proof.  We affirm the award of trial attorney fees and award appellate attorney fees to Sylvia.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (9 pages)

            Cindy Hebron seeks reversal of the district court’s ruling denying her application for postconviction relief.  Hebron claims her due process rights have been violated, her right to a speedy trial was violated, and she received ineffective assistance of counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: We find Hebron has failed to prove any due process violation or ineffective assistance of counsel, and she waived her right to a speedy trial.  We affirm the district court’s denial of Hebron’s application for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael D. Huppert, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (11 pages)

            Carl Bennett appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief, arguing he is innocent and that his trial counsel was ineffective.  OPINION HOLDS: After reviewing the record, we agree with the district court that there is overwhelming evidence of Bennett’s guilt and that he did not prove his attorney was ineffective.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Emmet County, Don E. Courtney, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and Bower and May, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (5 pages)

            Scott Griffith appeals from the decree dissolving his marriage to Joyce Griffith.  Scott argues the district court erred in failing to order continued conciliation efforts, in finding Joyce was capable of establishing the breakdown of the marriage, and in refusing to grant Scott’s motion to compel discovery of mental health records.  OPINION HOLDS: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in not requiring continued conciliation efforts or in denying the motion to compel discovery of Joyce’s medical records.  Joyce has established the requisite breakdown of the marital relationship, and we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, John D. Telleen, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (25 pages)

            The State seeks reversal of the district court’s ruling granting postconviction relief (PCR) to Benaiah Mablin on the ground the court failed to properly analyze the ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we conclude Mablin has failed to prove the requisite prejudice, we reverse the district court and remand for dismissal of the PCR application. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Brad McCall, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (9 pages)

            Daniel Hicks appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief, asserting trial and appellate counsel were ineffective in failing to consult or retain a child-sexual-abuse expert, permitting witnesses to vouch for the child’s credibility, and failing to challenge prejudicial testimony and out-of-court statements.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Hicks failed prove that but for trial and appellate counsel’s asserted deficiencies in performance there is a reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been different, we affirm the denial of his application for postconviction relief.