January 2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Guthrie County, Brad McCall, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, P.J. (14 pages)

            Patrick Thompson appeals his convictions of murder and arson.  He argues the district court erred in failing to issue a spoliation jury instruction and in denying his motion to exclude expert witnesses, the evidence was not sufficient to support the convictions, and trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.  OPINION HOLDS: Thompson has failed to show there was an intentional destruction of evidence to necessitate a spoliation instruction.  Because the expert witnesses were qualified in accordance with the Iowa Rules of Evidence, the district court did not abuse discretion in denying Thompson’s motion to exclude.  Following our review of the record, we conclude a rational factfinder could find Thompson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of arson in the first degree.  Thompson’s ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim is preserved.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fremont County, James S. Heckerman, Judge. AFFIRMED.  Heard by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (30 pages)

            Brian Davis appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief.  He argues he received ineffective assistance from his trial and appellate counsel in several respects.  He also raises additional ineffective-assistance claims in a pro se brief.  OPINION HOLDS: Having considered all arguments, we affirm the denial of Davis’s postconviction relief proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Mary Ann Brown, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Jaron Purham appeals his judgment and sentence for first-degree murder.  He contends (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s finding of guilt; (2) we need not address a recent statutory provision on general verdicts; (3) his trial attorney was ineffective in failing to object to a jury instruction on specific intent in the aiding-and-abetting context; and (4) the district court abused its discretion in admitting a video depicting sex and linking him to the location of the crime.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Purham’s judgment and sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Richard D. Stochl, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (9 pages)

            Cheyanne Harris appeals the judgment and sentence entered on her conviction of murder in the first degree.  On appeal, Harris contends (1) the district court should have admitted “opinion evidence of a mental impairment due to a mental disease or defect” to “negate the mens rea for a non-specific intent crime” and (2) her trial attorney was ineffective in failing to afford her the opportunity to present “a diminished responsibility defense and simultaneously allowing the State to pursue a line of argument that confronts a mental health defense.”  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Harris’s judgment and sentence for first-degree murder. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, John J. Haney, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, P.J.  (5 pages)

            Jesse Collins appeals the denial of his motion to quash his restitution plan alleging a violation of his due process rights.  OPINION HOLDS: Our review of the record reveals Collins had sufficient notice of the restitution withholding plan and of his opportunity and the procedure to object.  We affirm the denial of Collins’s motion to quash.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph W. Seidlin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., May, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Harlan Mott appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR) challenging his 2007 conviction of first-degree kidnapping.  As he did to the district court, Mott contends his trial counsel denied him effective assistance by failing “to even consider pursuing an expert witness that might either call into question” the complaining witness’s diagnosis of PTSD and whether it fit the legal definition of serious injury.  For the first time on appeal, he also argues his PCR counsel denied him effective assistance by failing to obtain an expert witness to testify at the PCR hearing as to what he or she would have said to counter the State’s expert at the underlying trial if trial counsel had sought their opinion.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we do not know if an expert who would have challenged the PTSD diagnosis even exists, we cannot find fault with either trial counsel’s or PCR counsel’s representation for failing to obtain such a witness.  Mott’s claims of ineffective assistance fail.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, William P. Kelly, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (26 pages)

            Travis Jamal Foreman appeals his convictions for assault causing serious injury and two counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent.  He raises several sufficiency-of-the-evidence claims, ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims related to the jury instructions defining “assault” and Iowa’s “stand your ground” law, and claims related to a number of other jury instructions.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports Foreman’s conviction for one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon in count III, but substantial evidence does not support Foreman’s conviction in count IV.  Foreman’s ineffective-assistance claim related to the “assault” instruction fails because Foreman cannot show a reasonable probability of a different result had the jury received an instruction fully defining “assault.”  Foreman’s ineffective-assistance claim related to the “stand your ground” instruction fails because Foreman was not entitled to stand-your-ground protections.  Any error in including the other jury instructions Foreman objects to on appeal was harmless.  We therefore reverse and remand to the district court for a judgment of acquittal on count IV and affirm the district court on all other counts.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County, Andrew Smith, District Associate Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by May, J. (23 pages)

Dion Caldwell appeals his conviction for operating while intoxicated, third offense.  On appeal, he challenges: (1) sufficiency of the evidence; (2) denial of his motion to suppress evidence; (3) admissibility of certain evidence; and (4) the costs and fees imposed.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence supported Caldwell’s conviction.  And we conclude his rights under Iowa Code section 804.20 (2019) were not violated.  But we conclude the court should have suppressed Caldwell’s refusal to provide a breath sample.  So we reverse and remand for a new trial.  In light of this disposition, we do not reach Caldwell’s other arguments.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND CASE REMANDED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., Greer, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (10 pages)

            Oleaf Teoh appeals after a jury found her guilty of vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and malicious prosecution.  OPINION HOLDS: I. The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting into evidence three graphic photos of the victim’s injuries that were relevant and no more inflammatory than other evidence in the record.  II. Substantial evidence supports Teoh’s convictions for vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, but there is insufficient evidence to support her conviction for malicious prosecution.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Michael K. Jacobsen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (15 pages)

            Marcia Shaffer appeals from the denial of her application for postconviction relief (PCR).  As she did before the district court, she makes claims of actual innocence and argues her trial counsel provided ineffective assistance.  OPINON HOLDS: We affirm the denial of Shaffer’s PCR application. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, George L. Stigler, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (14 pages)

            Matthew Miller appeals and Karri Miller cross appeals the district court’s property provisions of the dissolution decree.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm all aspects of the dissolution decree except that we modify the amount of Matthew’s Roth IRA to be awarded to Karri.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Jason D. Besler, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (11 pages)

            Larry Babcock appeals from the denial of his application for postconviction relief following his conviction of murder in the second degree.  OPINION HOLDS: Babcock has failed to prove that trial counsel failed to perform an essential duty or that he suffered constitutional prejudice because counsel did not obtain the services of experts in forensic pathology or forensic entomology.