2020 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jones County, Andrew Chappell, Judge.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (7 pages)

            Thomas Lincoln appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for new trial.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court was correct in denying Lincoln’s motion.  We remand for the limited purpose of determining Citizens State Bank’s appellate attorney fees award.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Lars Anderson, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (7 pages)

            Quentin Johnson appeals his conviction of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.  OPINION HOLDS: The applicable statutory language does not bar a jury from considering whether marijuana possessed by one person may be divided into personal- and shared-use portions.  Furthermore, the legislature specifically declared accommodation to be a lesser-included offense of possession with intent to deliver while other lesser-included offenses also exist.  Accordingly, Johnson should have been provided an opportunity to present an accommodation theory to the jury.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Greer, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J. (10 pages)

            Jerell Russell appeals his convictions of first-degree theft, unauthorized use of a credit card, and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.  OPINION HOLDS:  There is substantial evidence in the record to support Russell’s convictions.  We affirm his convictions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Adams County, Michael Jacobsen, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (3 pages)

            Mark Curtis appeals the district court’s reopening of the record and modification of a settlement agreement.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court’s modification of the terms of the settlement agreement was an abuse of discretion.  As such, we vacate paragraph five of the adjudication provisions of the order on the motion to reopen and modify and remand for any necessary further proceedings as a result of the same.  We deny Misha Curtis’s request for appellate attorney fees.  Costs on appeal are to be assessed equally between the parties.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dickinson County, Don E. Courtney, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Ahlers, JJ.  Per Curiam. Special concurrence by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (16 pages)

            Al and Deb Poller appeal the decision of the district court, arguing that the district court erred in (1) refusing to find violations of Iowa Code chapter 537B (2016) and (2) concluding Okoboji Classic Cars, LLC (OCC) proved its breach-of-contract claim.  OPINION HOLDS: Assuming without deciding that chapter 537B applies, we need not decide whether OCC violated the chapter because the Pollers did not establish that they sustained actual damages.  Further, the Pollers remain liable on the breach-of-contract claim.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I would find chapter 537B applies to OCC and OCC violated the provision requiring OCC to provide an estimate upon request, but I agree the Pollers did not prove actual damages resulting from the violations, and I agree with the disposition of the breach-of-contract counterclaim.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Gregory W. Steensland, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (4 pages)

            Jackie Taylor appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR).  He claims PCR counsel provided ineffective assistance by not calling him to testify at the PCR hearing.  OPINION HOLDS: Taylor’s general assertion he should have been called to testify at the PCR hearing and the limited record we have before us is not enough for us to decide Taylor’s claim of ineffective assistance against PCR counsel.  We affirm the district court’s denial of Taylor’s application for PCR and preserve for a successive PCR application his claim of ineffective assistance against PCR counsel.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Paul D. Scott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (11 pages)

            Shawn Thomas Bean appeals from convictions for drug-related offenses, arguing the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence from a vehicle search.  OPINION HOLDS: The evidence was properly admissible, and therefore the denial of the motion to suppress was not in error.  The evidence was admissible under the plain-view exception.  We need not consider whether the consensual encounter transformed into a seizure at some point, as the evidence providing probable cause for Bean’s arrest was discovered due to the arresting officer’s exploration of an area in which Bean had no reasonable expectation of privacy.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Greer, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by May, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Shane Crippen appeals from the denial of his motion for new trial.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Crippen’s motion.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Jeffrey A. Neary, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (3 pages)

            David Ritchie appeals the property-distribution provisions of the decree dissolving his marriage to Shirley Ritchie.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the decree of dissolution of marriage.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Margaret L. Lingreen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (3 pages)

            James Mahlstedt challenges his written guilty plea on direct appeal.  OPINION HOLDS: Mahlstedt failed to preserve his challenge to his guilty plea in failing to move in arrest of judgment.  Also, under Iowa Code section 814.6(1)(a)(3) (2019), Mahlstedt has no right to appeal his conviction following his guilty plea unless he establishes good cause to do so.  The record is insufficient to decide the good-cause question. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Brendan Greiner, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (7 pages)

            A mother appeals a dispositional order entered in a child-in-need-of-assistance proceeding.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the evidence presented at the dispositional hearing was clear and convincing that custody should be transferred to the father and there was no discrimination toward the mother, we affirm the district court.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mills County, Michael D. Hooper, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Mullins and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (11 pages)

            Ricardo Navarro appeals the district court’s denial of his petition to modify the physical care provisions of the decree dissolving his marriage to Catherine Navarro, now known as Catherine Brown.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude Ricardo met his burden for modification of physical care.  We reverse and remand.