February 2020 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (12 pages)

            Jeremy Hill appeals his conviction of theft in the second degree.  Hill argues instruction sixteen was both an improper statement of the law on aiding and abetting and that it violated his constitutional rights.  Hill also argues insufficient evidence was presented to support his conviction and he received ineffective assistance of counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence was presented at trial to support Hill’s conviction of theft in the second degree.  The marshaling instruction on theft in the second degree included an explanation of specific intent, but Hill’s counsel breached his duty in failing to object to the omission of the specific-intent language from the aiding-and-abetting instruction.  However, because there is no reasonable probability a different outcome would have resulted if the instruction had been properly submitted to the jury, no prejudice has resulted, and we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, Richard D. Stochl, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (6 pages)

            Christopher Weigert challenges the sentence imposed by the district court following his guilty plea for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver (methamphetamine).  Weigert maintains the court impermissibly applied a fixed sentencing policy rather than engaging in the meaningful exercise of discretion mandated by Iowa Code section 901.5 (2017).  OPINION HOLDS: Weigert has not establish the court engaged in a fixed sentencing policy.  We affirm the sentence imposed by the district court.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (3 pages)

            Nicolas Jacobs appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief application.  He contends his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge Iowa Code section 232.11 (2015) as an equal protection violation.  OPINION HOLDS: We find counsel was not ineffective.  And we affirm the denial of Jacobs’s postconviction-relief application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica L. Zrinyi Wittig, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (4 pages)

            Jacob Schmitz challenges the sentences imposed by the district court.  He maintains the circumstances did not warrant the consecutive terms of incarceration ordered by the court.  OPINION HOLDS: Recognizing that the court imposed a sentence within its discretion and that Schmitz has not established the court relied on an improper factor or consideration to do so, we find the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Schmitz to consecutive terms of prison.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED; SENTENCES AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J. (11 pages)

            Defendant appeals convictions for theft, identity theft, and forgery.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject defendant’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims because a factual basis existed for the forgery conviction. We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing the defendant to a term of incarceration. We vacate those portions of the sentencing orders pertaining to restitution and remand for a new restitution calculation.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Joel A. Dalrymple, Judge.  CONVICTION AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J. (5 pages)

            Tondalaya Bridges appeals her conviction and sentence for first-degree burglary.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject Bridges’s claim that she was so intoxicated that she could not form the specific intent to commit an assault necessary to find her guilty of first-degree burglary.  Because the verdict is not against the weight of the evidence, her trial counsel did not breach a duty to move for a new trial.  Her claim of ineffective assistance of counsel fails.  We vacate the portion of the sentencing order assessing Bridges with court costs and remand to the district court to impose restitution consistent with Bridges’s reasonable ability to pay.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clay County, Charles K. Borth, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (6 pages)

            Charles Stoppelmoor appeals his conviction for operating while intoxicated, second offense, arguing the district court should have granted his motion to suppress based on an alleged unconstitutional seizure.  OPINION HOLDS: Based on the totality of the circumstances, the lieutenant had reasonable suspicion that Stoppelmoor was operating while intoxicated when he initiated the seizure and the district court did not err by denying the motion to suppress.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Stephen A. Owen, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (3 pages)

            Ronald Steenhoek entered a written plea of guilty to the charge of assault causing bodily injury.  Steenhoek appeals, claiming trial counsel was ineffective in failing to file a motion to dismiss the trial information because it did not give adequate notice concerning a burglary charge and in failing to take depositions.  OPINION HOLDS: Steenhoek’s first ineffective-assistance claim fails, and the record is inadequate to address the second.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows and Mark J. Smith, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Leonard Boyd appeals his conviction after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily injury.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the record on direct appeal is inadequate to resolve Boyd’s claim that counsel was ineffective by failing to investigate the facts and interview witnesses, we preserve it for a postconviction-relief proceeding.  But Boyd cannot show his counsel breached a duty by failing to move in arrest of judgment to challenge the voluntary nature of his plea because the court did not have to inform Boyd of a collection fee that was a collateral consequence of his plea.  Nor was the court required to conduct an in-court colloquy because Boyd’s written guilty plea to a misdemeanor waived his right to one. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, James D. Coil, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (14 pages)

            Charles Leff appeals the provisions regarding child support and tax benefits from the ruling dissolving his marriage to Carrie Leff.  He argues the trial court improperly determined his income for calculating his child support obligation and improperly allowed Carrie to claim one of the parties’ children as a dependent on her tax returns.  Carrie requests appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the trial court that Charles’s gross annual income for support purposes is $84,440.00, but we find his entire income is taxable.  Therefore, we remand to the district court for the purpose of calculating his child support obligation and entering a corresponding support order.  Because the child support obligation may influence the determination of how to equitably allocate the right to claim the children as dependents on the parties’ tax returns, we also remand to reconsider such allocation.  We otherwise affirm the trial court, and we deny Carrie’s request for appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Kathleen A. Kilnoski, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (12 pages)

            Brian Andreesen appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for a new trial following a civil jury verdict in favor of the defendant, a railroad company.  He generally challenges the propriety of the instructions the district court provided to the jury concerning the statute of limitations and discovery rule.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the court’s use of the term “symptoms” in its jury instructions as a correct statement of the law.  We find the court’s preceding use of the term “first” to be error.  However, we find the instructional error harmless and thus affirm the denial of the motion for a new trial.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Paul D. Scott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, S.J. (4 pages)

            Thomas Calhoun appeals his convictions for operating while intoxicated—third offense and two counts of abandonment or neglect of a dependent person.  OPINION HOLDS: The witnesses’ testimony, as supported by the officers’ body camera footage, provides sufficient evidence to support Calhoun’s convictions.