Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1487
View Summary for Case No. 18-1487
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wayne County, Patrick W. Greenwood, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (10 pages)
Ethan Davis appeals from his convictions of assault causing bodily injury and child endangerment. Davis challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his child-endangerment conviction. Specifically, he challenges whether the evidence establishes he “knowingly act[ed]” and whether those actions created a “substantial risk” to the child’s physical, mental, or emotional health and safety. Davis also maintains he received ineffective assistance from trial counsel when counsel did not challenge the jury instruction on “substantial risk.” OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports Davis’s conviction of child endangerment and his claim of ineffective assistance fails, we affirm.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1492
View Summary for Case No. 18-1492
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Winnebago County, Gregg R. Rosenbladt, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ. Opinion by Doyle, J. (12 pages)
Chad Bonner appeals from convictions on two counts of second-degree sexual abuse following a bench trial. OPINION HOLDS: Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude substantial evidence supports Bonner’s second-degree sexual abuse convictions. We do not find the district court abused its discretion when it excluded Bonner’s proffered evidence or when it overruled Bonner’s motion for new trial based on newly discovered evidence. We therefore affirm Bonner’s convictions. We do not address his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in this direct appeal.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1500
View Summary for Case No. 18-1500
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cass County, Susan Christensen, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ. Opinion by May, J. (7 pages)
Timothy Smith appeals his convictions for two counts of second-degree sexual abuse. He claims he should have been able to challenge the identity of the complaining witness’s abuser by introducing evidence Smith’s son was also charged with sexually abusing the complaining witness. He also claims he received ineffective assistance of counsel. OPINION HOLDS: The district court properly excluded evidence that Smith’s son was also charged with sexually abusing the complaining witness. We preserve Smith’s ineffective-assistance claim for future postconviction-relief proceedings.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1627
View Summary for Case No. 18-1627
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Michael J. Schilling, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ. Opinion by May, J. (2 pages)
John Washburne appeals the summary dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief (PCR). OPINION HOLDS: The PCR court properly dismissed Washburne’s PCR application.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1645
View Summary for Case No. 18-1645
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. (12 pages)
The defendant appeals from a sentence imposed following guilty plea proceedings. OPINION HOLDS: We deny two of the defendant’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims and as the record is insufficient for review of the remaining ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims, we preserve them for a possible future postconviction proceeding. We reject defendant’s argument that the trial court violated Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.8 when it added a late-fee provision to the sentencing order, and we find no violation of defendant’s due process rights.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1733
View Summary for Case No. 18-1733
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Robert J. Richter, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (9 pages)
Christopher Puccio appeals his conviction for attempted burglary. He contends his trial counsel was ineffective in not asking for three jury instructions: (1) a lesser-included-offense instruction on criminal trespass; (2) an instruction on prior inconsistent witness statements; and (3) an instruction on how to evaluate eyewitness identification testimony. OPINION HOLDS: We reject the first and second ineffective-assistance claims because those instructions did not apply to Puccio’s prosecution. As to the third claim, better development of the record is needed to decide whether counsel was ineffective for not ensuring the jury had information about the fallibility of eyewitness identification. So we preserve that claim for Puccio to raise if he seeks postconviction relief.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1755
View Summary for Case No. 18-1755
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Brook Jacobsen, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ. Opinion by May, J. (5 pages)
Lorenzo Alexander appeals his conviction and sentence after he pled guilty to domestic abuse assault, second offense. OPINION HOLDS: Alexander waived all claims of error by the district court. We reject one of Alexander’s ineffective-assistance claims and preserve the rest.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1777
View Summary for Case No. 18-1777
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Stephen A. Owen, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. Special concurrence by Doyle, J. (11 pages)
Joshua Uranga appeals his conviction for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements, contending the district court abused its discretion in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal and for new trial “where exculpatory evidence was produced after trial.” OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Uranga’s judgment and sentence for failure to comply with the sex offender registry. SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: Although I agree with the majority that Uranga’s admissions at trial established the elements of the crime, and that providing the jury with the sheriff’s courtesy letter probably would not have changed the result, it seems patently unfair that Uranga’s compliance with a directive of the county’s highest law enforcement officer played no part in the prosecution and disposition of this case.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1782
View Summary for Case No. 18-1782
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Adam D. Sauer, District Associate Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (6 pages)
Ricky Mahnesmith appeals following his guilty pleas to possession of methamphetamine (third offense) and forgery. Mahnesmith argues (1) the pleas were not voluntary; (2) the district court abused its discretion in “not following the [sentencing] recommendation of the parties” and in failing to “make it clear why the sentences would run consecutively with the sentences in the probation revocation matters”; and (3) defense counsel was ineffective in several respects. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Mahnesmith’s judgment and sentence for possession of methamphetamine (third offense) and forgery.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1827
View Summary for Case No. 18-1827
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Colleen Weiland, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (6 pages)
Braedon Bowers appeals his conviction for voluntary manslaughter. He contends his trial counsel was ineffective for not arguing he was entitled to judgment of acquittal based on justification. OPINION HOLDS: Because the State presented sufficient evidence to disprove justification, Bowers cannot show prejudice. We affirm the conviction.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1839
View Summary for Case No. 18-1839
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wright County, DeDra L. Schroeder and James M. Drew, Judges. AFFIRMED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. (13 pages)
Jerod Miller appeals his convictions for willful injury causing serious injury and domestic abuse assault (strangulation) causing bodily injury. OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the retrial of Miller did not violate his right against double jeopardy because he requested the declaration of a mistrial in his first trial. We determine Miller has not shown he received ineffective assistance on the ground defense counsel did not object to a video. Finally, we find Miller was not denied his right to a speedy trial. We affirm Miller’s convictions.
Filed Mar 18, 2020
View Opinion No. 18-1864
View Summary for Case No. 18-1864
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge. AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Schumacher, J. (11 pages)
A defendant appeals from convictions related to the murder of his wife. OPINION HOLDS: The defendant’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim fails because there is no reasonable probability of a different result had text messages or testimony about the text messages been excluded. We find the sentencing court properly stated its reasons for imposing consecutive sentences and affirm. We vacate a portion of the defendant’s sentence and remand for recalculation of restitution in light of Iowa Supreme Court precedent.