2020 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Guthrie County, Terry Rickers, Judge.  CONDITIONALLY AFFIRMED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by May, J. (9 pages)

            Eric Hellman appeals his conviction and sentence for assault causing bodily injury.  He makes the following arguments on appeal: (1) his counsel was ineffective for multiple reasons, (2) the district court applied the wrong standard when deciding his motion for new trial, (3) the district court illegally imposed court costs without making a finding of reasonable ability to pay, and (4) his no-contact order was an illegal sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: We preserve all but one of Hellman’s ineffective-assistance claims.  We vacate the district court’s denial of the motion for new trial.  As for the sentencing issues, we vacate the imposition of costs, the finding of an intimate partner relationship, and the firearm prohibition.  We remand with directions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  SENTENCE AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., Greer, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, J. (9 pages)

            Tavish Shackford appeals the district court’s resentencing order after his conviction for one count of willful injury causing bodily injury.  Shackford argues the court erred in assessing all court costs against him, including correctional fees, without considering (1) whether to apportion any of the costs between two criminal counts or (2) whether he had a reasonable ability to pay the costs.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude Shackford is liable for the correctional fees attributable to the time he spent in jail after his conviction for a forcible felony when our court overturned that conviction for lack of evidence.  We also conclude Shackford was not entitled to a reasonable ability to pay determination regarding correctional fees, but he was entitled to that determination regarding court costs.  We remand for the entry of a restitution order.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J. (7 pages)

            Dion Banks appeals his conviction for delivery of heroin, claiming the district court abused its discretion during sentencing.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the court did not abuse its discretion and affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie K. Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Mullins, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by Danilson, S.J.  (8 pages)

            Fred Moore appeals the district court order denying his request for postconviction relief from his conviction of first-degree murder.  OPINION HOLDS:  We determine the district court did not err by finding Moore did not show he was entitled to relief on the basis of newly-discovered evidence.  We also find no error in the district court’s conclusion Moore did not meet the standard necessary to prove his claim of actual innocence.  We affirm the district court’s decision denying Moore’s application for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael D. Huppert, Judge.  AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS-APPEAL.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (27 pages)

            The plaintiffs are former Casey’s employees who were fired after a random drug test.  The employees filed claims against Casey’s under the civil cause of action provided in Iowa Code section 730.5(15) (2016).  Casey’s appeals the district court’s award of damages to two of the four plaintiffs and its rejection of Casey’s immunity claim.  The employees cross-appeal the district court’s conclusion Casey’s violated the statute but that they are not aggrieved employees under the statute.  OPINION HOLDS: Based on our interpretation of the statute, Casey’s is not entitled to the statutory immunity.  We find the district court correctly concluded two of the employees were tested without statutory authority, and there is no error in the district court’s grant of awards of front and back pay.  We further find the district court erred in concluding Casey’s committed two other statutory violations.  Because Casey’s conduct substantially complied with the statute in every other respect, the two remaining plaintiffs were not entitled to damages.  We affirm the district court. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, John D. Ackerman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (10 pages)

            Mark Everett appeals his convictions for first-degree robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He argues the robbery verdict was against the weight of the evidence, trial counsel was ineffective in failing to object to opinion and vouching testimony, and there was insufficient evidence to support the felon in possession conviction.  OPINION HOLDS: The credible evidence did not preponderate heavily against the first-degree robbery verdict, counsel was not ineffective as alleged, and there is substantial evidence supporting the felon-in-possession conviction.  We therefore affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, Lucy J. Gamon, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (7 pages)

            Venhure Tsegay appeals his conviction for first-degree robbery.  He claims his sentence of twenty-five years in prison should be considered cruel and unusual punishment because he was eighteen years old at the time of the offense.  He also raises an equal protection challenge.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Tsegay’s conviction and sentence,

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Steven J. Andreasen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J. (8 pages)

            Trekel Barker appeals his convictions for robbery in the first degree, carrying a dangerous weapon, trafficking in stolen weapons, and theft in the fourth degree.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the court did not abuse its discretion in denying Barker’s motion for mistrial, motion for new trial, or motion in arrest of judgment, and his counsel did not provide ineffective assistance by not objecting to a jury instruction.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg and Robert B. Hanson, Judges, and Becky Goettsch, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (6 pages)

            Daniel Ockenfels appeals his convictions after a jury found him guilty on four charges—driving while barred, eluding law enforcement, disarming a police officer, and assault on a police officer while using or displaying a dangerous weapon.  He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions for disarming a peace officer and assault on a peace officer while using or displaying a dangerous weapon.  He also claims ineffective assistance of trial counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Although perhaps another factfinder may have judged the evidence differently, substantial evidence supports the jury’s verdicts when viewed in the light most favorable to the State.  We reject Ockenfels’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (South) County, Mark E. Kruse and Michael J. Schilling, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (9 pages)

            Nicholas Burgess appeals from the sentence imposed upon his conviction for delivery of a schedule II controlled substance (morphine), contending the prosecutor breached the plea agreement to recommend a suspended sentence and his defense counsel was ineffective in not objecting.  OPINION HOLDS: Given the favorable plea agreement offered by the State, Burgess’s extensive criminal history, and the PSI recommendation, it was reasonable for the prosecutor to acknowledge the defendant’s criminal history to explain the State’s recommendation for a suspended sentence.  We therefore affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Kyle Tjaden appeals the judgment and sentence entered after pleading guilty to two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of fourth-degree theft.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the date is not an element of possession of a controlled substance, Tjaden’s counsel did not breach an essential duty in allowing him to plead guilty when the written plea listed the wrong date of possession.  We cannot determine whether Tjaden was prejudiced when his trial counsel failed to alert the district court that they did not inform Tjaden of the maximum possible sentence before accepting his plea.  We preserve that claim and any others for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (6 pages)

            Joseph Miller appeals the denial of postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS:  Because the court did not err in concluding Miller’s claim was barred by the statute of limitations, we affirm.