April 2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fremont County, Margaret Reyes, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (15 pages)

            Moncef Riahi appeals from the default decree dissolving his marriage to Destiny Voyles-Riahi.  OPINION HOLDS: We have considered all of the issues raised, whether explicitly addressed or not, and we affirm the district court had jurisdiction and authority to dissolve the parties’ marriage.  We modify the decree to strike any decretal language purporting to do more than end the marriage.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  REVERSED AND JUDGMENT VACATED IN PART.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., Tabor, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (5 pages)

            Randy Miles appeals the order approving the Polk County Sheriff’s claim for reimbursement of jail administrative costs and room and board.  Miles challenges the amount of jail costs and fees arguing that the State failed to provide evidence to support the amount and that the amount is unconstitutionally excessive.  OPINION HOLDS: The prosecutor presented no evidence to support the sheriff’s room and board claim other than the claim itself.  And no evidence was presented about the actual administrative costs relating to Miles’s arrest and booking.  See Iowa Code § 356.7(1) (2019) (emphasis added).  We conclude that the district court’s judgment lacks substantial evidentiary support.  In view of our disposition, we need not decide Miles’s claim that the assessment of room and board charges amount to an excessive fine, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 17 of the Iowa Constitution.    

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Mahan, S.J.  Opinion by Mahan, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Lee Smith appeals the district court’s denial of his fourth application for postconviction relief, challenging the court’s rejection of his actual-innocence claim to overcome the statute-of-limitations.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the denial of Smith’s application for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (11 pages)

            Jamar Wise appeals his five felony and two aggravated-misdemeanor convictions.  In challenging those convictions, he contests the denial of his severance motion.  He also seeks a new trial on due process grounds.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the pattern of the crimes revealed a continuing motive, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s refusal to sever the counts for trial.  As for the due process claim, Wise did not seek a mistrial in the district court, so we have no ruling to review on appeal.  For these reasons, we affirm the convictions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph Seidlin, Judge.  REVERSED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  Special Concurrence by Vaitheswaran, J.  (27 pages)

            It was alleged registered nurse Elizabeth Babka committed dependent adult abuse.  Following a contested hearing, an administrative law judge issued a proposed decision that concluded Babka had not committed abuse.  On appeal, the director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) adopted all the facts of the proposed decision but came to the opposite conclusion—that Babka did commit dependent adult abuse.  Babka appealed the decision, which the district court affirmed on judicial review.  Here on appeal, Babka argues the facts do not support a legal determination she committed dependent adult abuse.  She also maintains the director’s decision failed to meet the statutory requirements for a final decision under Iowa Code section 17A.16(1) (2019).  And she argues that, under the circumstances here, the director’s failure makes the decision unreasonable, arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion, as it is unclear what legal authority the director relied on, how he interpreted that authority, and what facts the interpretation was applied to reach the decision.  OPINION HOLDS: We reverse the district court and dismiss all allegations of dependent adult abuse against Babka.  We order the DIA to take any action necessary to implement this decision.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I concur in reversal of the agency decision because although I believe the administrative law judge’s findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence, I do not believe those fact findings support the director’s determination that Babka committed dependent adult abuse, and, to the extent the director’s decision involved an interpretation of chapter 235E, I am persuaded the interpretation was either “irrational, illogical, or wholly unjustifiable” under the more deferential standard or erroneous under the less deferential standard. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Patrick R. Grady, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (3 pages)

            Phyllis M. Rausch, as trustee of the William J. Rausch Family Trust, appeals a condemnation award providing compensation for a portion of trust property condemned by the City of Marion.  OPINION HOLDS: Because evidence of comparable sales was inadmissible through a lay witness who had no personal knowledge of the transactions, district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding it.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Casey D. Jones, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (7 pages)

            Patrick Martinson appeals his sentence for witness tampering, claiming the court abused its discretion by failing to state adequate reasons for imposing its sentence and did not fully address potential mitigating factors.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s sentence and find no abuse of discretion. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Louisa County, John M. Wright, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (3 pages)

            Cody Mousty appeals following his guilty plea to forgery, raising two ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims.  OPINION HOLDS: Mousty pled guilty to a crime other than a class A felony and did not establish good cause for considering the appeal under Iowa Code section 814.6(1)(a)(3) (2019).  He solely raised ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims, which cannot be decided on direct appeal, pursuant to section 814.7.  We dismiss Mousty’s appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Doyle, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  (8 pages)

            Chester Greenup appeals the dismissal of his application for postconviction relief (PCR) on statute-of-limitations grounds.  Also submitted with the appeal is Greenup’s motion to disqualify appellate counsel pursuant to Iowa Code section 822.3A (Supp. 2019) and counsel’s motion to withdraw.  OPINION HOLDS: We deny Greenup’s motion to disqualify appellate counsel and counsel’s motion to withdraw.  We affirm the summary disposition of Greenup’s PCR application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (5 pages)

            Tony Sihavong appeals the summary disposition of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the denial of Sihavong’s application on statute-of-limitations grounds.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Christopher Foy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Greer, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J.  (12 pages)

            Jennifer Bean appeals her conviction for attempt to commit murder.  She claims this district court abused its discretion when it denied her motion for a change of venue and violated Iowa Rule of Evidence 5.106 when it denied her request to admit roughly 20,000 text messages into evidence.  She also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a change of venue.  Bean did not make an offer of proof for her evidentiary challenge, so it is not preserved for our review.  Sufficient evidence supported Bean’s conviction for attempt to commit murder.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Mark E. Kruse, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., May, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (12 pages)

            Majestic Malone appeals his convictions for second-degree murder and third-degree kidnapping, contending the verdicts were against the weight of the evidence and the court erred in denying his challenge to the State’s use of a peremptory challenge.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the evidence does not preponderate heavily against the verdicts and because we give great deference to the district court’s finding that the State’s race-neutral reasons were not pretext, we affirm.